Whole Wheat Orange Cranberry Muffins (Oil-free/Butterless)

Tart cranberries plumped up in freshly squeezed orange juice. Whole-wheat flour. No oil. No butter. Just a touch of sweetness from honey. Yum, right? Added bonus - the 6.5 yo loved it too! He just wished that there were a few chocolate chips too! This boy! He loves chocolate. If he could have his way, he would have sprinkled some on his salad as well! Anyhoo.. off to the recipe now!

Ingredients: (Yield 6-7 muffins)

• Whole-wheat flour - 1 Cup
• Baking Soda - 1 tsp
• Salt - 1/2 tsp
• Cinnamon Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Egg - 1 large, at room temperature
• Honey or agave - 2 tbsp
• Unsweetened Apple Sauce - 1/3 Cup (recipe here, or you can use store-bought   
• Vanilla Extract - 1tsp
• Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice of a whole orange
• Orange Zest - of a whole orange
• Cranberries - 3/4 Cup

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners, coat those lightly with a non-stick cooking spray. If you are using foil cupcake liners you can skip this step. Set aside.

Let the cranberries hang out in the freshly squeezed OJ and orange zest for a couple of hours or more. You can just add the cranberries, OJ and orange zest to a bowl, cling wrap it and stick it in the fridge overnight.

In a bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients - whole-wheat flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon powder.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, honey, apple sauce, vanilla extract and cranberry-OJ mix till just incorporated.

Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients and gently mix. Be careful not to overmix. Let the batter rest for about 20 minutes.

Scoop in couple of spoonful of the batter into the prepped muffin cups. Bake for 13-15 minutes till done. Insert a toothpick in the middle of the muffin to check for done-ness. If it comes out clean, your muffins are ready. Baking time will vary depending on your oven. If you overbake, the muffins will dry out.

Let the muffins hang out in the muffin tin for a few minutes till those cool down enough to be handled. Transfer to a cooling rack and let the muffins cool down completely before serving.

Store leftovers in an airtight container. These will stay fresh for 3-4 days.