Cranberry Currant Oat Muffins

Decadent items like Mushrooms and Leeks with Pecorino Fonduta and Smore Brownies find their way onto my plate often enough, but I do try to stick to healthy options most of the time. Tofu oven fries are good; they really are. And, I really am a big fan of broccoli. Last Saturday, I wanted to bake something for breakfast, but I wanted a healthy option. When I’m feeling like upping the whole grains, limiting the saturated fats, and getting plenty of antioxidants, I turn to The Mayo Clinic Williams-Sonoma Cookbook which is where I found these Cranberry Currant Oat Muffins.

All of the Williams-Sonoma cookbooks are well done, and I use several of them. Soup and After Dinner are two other favorites. They all include photos for every recipe and good, clear information. In the MC WS Cookbook, each ingredient amount is listed by volume, by weight, and by metric equivalent. Also, nutritional information is listed for each recipe. If you’re curious, the nutritional stats for one of these muffins (if the batter is divided into 18 muffins) are:
180 calories
5 g protein
35 g carbohydrates
3 g fat
< 1 g saturated fat
13 mg cholesterol
145 mg sodium
3 g dietary fiber

They’re made with whole wheat flour, oats, buttermilk, two little tablespoons of canola oil, one whole egg and one egg white, brown sugar, and nutmeg. One cup each of dried cranberries and currants is used, and all that dried fruit keeps the muffins very moist. Just before they go in the oven, each muffin is topped with cinnamon sugar. I used turbinado sugar in the topping which added a little crunch. Freshly grated nutmeg in the batter makes the muffins deliciously fragrant. In fact, the nutmeg is the secret to these muffins’ success in my opinion. The warm spice flavor mingles with the nuttiness of the whole wheat and oats and delivers all the goodness you expect based on the aroma.

When Kurt tried them, he requested them warm from the oven every day. They were great for breakfast and equally enjoyable for dessert last night.