Cranberry-Walnut Bread & Muffins
Cranberry-Walnut Bread & Muffins
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| Yield: | 1 loaf or 12 muffins |
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon almond extract, optional
- 3/4 cup sour cream or yogurt, full-fat or low fat-preferred
- 1 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1 cup King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour or Premium Whole Wheat Flour
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- coarse white sparkling sugar or Demerara sugar, optional, for topping
Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 425°F for muffins, or 350°F for a loaf. Lightly grease a standard muffin tin. Or line with 12 paper muffin cups, and grease the cups with non-stick vegetable oil spray; this will ensure that they peel off the muffins nicely. If you're baking a loaf, lightly grease an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan.
2) In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat together the butter, vegetable oil, and sugars until smooth.
3) Add the eggs, beating to combine.
4) Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, the vanilla and almond extracts, and the yogurt or sour cream.
5) Place the flours in a food processor with the dried cranberries. Process until the berries are coarsely chopped. Add the nuts (if they're not chopped), and process briefly, just until the nuts are chopped up a bit.
6) Stir the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, mixing just until everything is thoroughly combined.
7) Divide the batter among the wells of the muffin tin, filling each one about 3/4 full. Or scoop the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Sprinkle muffins or loaf with coarse white sparkling sugar or Demerara sugar, if desired.
8) Bake the muffins for 14 to 15 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into one of the center muffins comes out clean. Bake the loaf for 45 to 55 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.
9) Remove the muffins or bread from the oven. Tilt the muffins in the pan to cool a bit, then transfer them to a rack to finish cooling. Serve warm or at room temperature. Allow the loaf to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn it out onto a rack to cool completely. For best results, don't slice until completely cool. Store muffins or bread well wrapped, at room temperature, for 2 to 3 days; freeze for longer storage.
10) Store muffins or bread well wrapped, at room temperature, for 2 to 3 days; freeze for longer storage.
Yield: 12 muffins or 1 loaf.
Reviews
05/14/2012- Mother's Day weekend and I'm still using up holiday dried cranberries! I followed the recipe exactly, except I did turn my electric oven down to 400 degrees. They were delicious and raised up very nicely! Thanks for the recipe.
- 02/22/2012
- I'm not crazy for the super sweetness of dried cranberries -so, I used frozen. I saw this in a scone recipe and the cranberries 'pop' and are just perfect in these recipes. But, I suppose you really need to love tart and sharp flavors. I made the loaf and baked until wooden skewer came out clean, It was probably an extra 10 minutes due to the added moisture of the whole popping berries. The tart cranberries are perfect for me and the loaf was very good.
- 11/30/2011
- Excellent flavor and texture as a loaf. I found that using a serrated knife to slice the bread after it is thoroughly cooled makes all the difference. I also added some orange peel which added just the right amount of moisture. That was my only deviation from the recipe as written, as well as leaving out the almond flavoring. Just might give these as Christmas gifts to very special people.
11/19/2011- Made this recipe today as muffins they had a great flavor but thought they were a little dry. Would definitely make them again if I can figure out how to make them moister.
If you measure your flour by dipping your cup directly into the bag, you can end up with more flour than you need. We recommend measuring flour this way to get the best results in your baked goods: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipe/measuring-flour.html. You may want to also try baking them 1-2 minutes less next time, as long as a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Or, give us a call on the Baker's Hotline and we'll be happy to troubleshoot! ~Mel
- 11/10/2011
- Just made this. Great taste. Added some almond with the vanilla. I made the tea bread but it came out of the pan fine but breaks apart. Too much whole wheat flour? I'm going to try it once more with only 1/2 c ww flour. I like the idea of whole wheat but don't like not being able to cut it (yes, it had cooled)
Did you use all whole wheat flour? If yes, you'll need to add at least 1 Tablespoon more liquid to your recipe. Otherwise, give us a call on the Baker's Hotline and we'll be happy to help troubleshoot! ~Mel
10/28/2011- I just got done making this recipe as muffins. Followed the recipe exactly and used vanilla and almond extract. I was quite disappointed as there isn't much flavor in these muffins. Maybe if I had used Flori di Sicilia, which I didn't have, and grated rind of a large orange, they would have had more of a flavor. They seemed to be lacking something. Also, 425 degrees seems too high of a temp for these muffins. They got too dark on the bottom, even though I only baked them 14 minutes. Would advise someone else to drop the temp to 400 or 375 degrees.
I am sorry these didn't meet your expectations. The higher temperature provides a really great dome, but you are welcome to lower the temperature if you'd prefer. If the bottom of your muffins are too dark, it may be the pan that you are using that is causing this. Please feel free to add any flavorings of your choice, including orange zest and/or extract. ~Amy
- 10/28/2011
- Saw this on KAF site this am and tried it this afternoon. I chose to make the muffins. I added 1/2 cup dried cherries to the dried cranberries and used 1 cup of walnuts and took your suggestion to use Fiori di Sicilia in place of vanilla and almond extract. Boy! was that a good idea. I actually got 16 standard muffins which I topped with white sparkling sugar. They are hearty from the white whole wheat and the orange/cranberry flavor is wonderful. This will make an excellent breakfast muffin. I baked them at 375 for 18 minutes in a convection oven . I had concerns that the 425 temp would burn them. My husband just ate one 2 minutes ago and his statement was "mmm, there really good! " ( and he typically does not go for muffins) I'll be making these all winter!!
