Cranberry Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins

These whole wheat muffins are made without butter or refined sugar, and are bursting with cranberries, orange zest, and dark chocolate chips!

Even though Thanksgiving is long past, I still have leftover cranberries sitting in my freezer. 🙂 (I like to stockpile when they are in the grocery stores during November.) I used some of them for this Cranberry Orange Smoothie about a week ago, but I still had a few cups left over. Say hello to Cranberry Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins!

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It makes me a little sad that cranberry season is so short, as I would be happy to eat them more often. I really enjoy the tart flavor of the nutritious little berries, especially when it is combined with orange or dark chocolate. 🙂 I know I can find dried cranberries in stores all year, but those just aren’t as good as the fresh ones.

When making these muffins I couldn’t decide between cranberry/orange or cranberry/chocolate, so I decided to go all out and use cranberries, orange, and chocolate!

As is my usual, I made my muffins with home ground, fresh whole wheat flour, but store bought whole wheat flour works just fine too. 🙂 The only difference is you might need a bit more moisture when using store bought. So keep that in mind and add a little more milk if necessary.

Happy baking!

Cranberry Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins

Servings: 2 dozen muffins
Time: 40 minutes
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Ingredients

3 3/4 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh cranberries
1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup olive oil
1 1/4 cups whole cane sugar (I use Sucanat)
2 Tablespoons honey
1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened
1 Tablespoon orange zest
1/4 cup orange juice
1 cup skim milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease or line 2 dozen muffin cups and set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add cranberries and chocolate chips and toss lightly to combine. Set aside. In a larger bowl, beat olive oil, whole cane sugar, and honey together until blended. Mix in applesauce, orange zest, and orange juice. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet, alternating with the 1 cup milk, stirring just until blended.

Fill muffin cups 3/4ths full. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until edges are turning golden. Let cool in pans 5 minutes before removing to cool on wire racks.

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~K in the Kitchen