Cranberry Zucchini Bread

In an attempt to clean out the refrigerator before heading home for Thanksgiving, I hid as much of the produce we had in baked goods.  The result?  A modified version of an old favorite (plus shredded carrots, minus pecans), this fall zucchini bread, and a much smaller pile of veggies to take home to Mom and Dad.

Cranberry Zucchini Bread (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
Makes 2 loaves or 24 muffins

3 eggs
1 vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fresh nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups flour
2 cups grated zucchini
1 1/2 cup fresh cranberries

Preheat oven to 350*F.
Grease 2 9x5 inch loaf pans and set aside.
With a mixer beat together eggs through vanilla.
Add in spices and leavening.
Just barely incorporate flour then zucchini.
Fold in cranberries.
Divide batter evenly between two pans.
Bake for 50-60 minutes, until top is golden and tester comes out clean.

Thanksgiving in a Muffin (minus the turkey)

Joy the Baker is a genius.  I'd love to meet her.  Someday.  Oh, someday.
Here is proof of her culinary prowess.
Pumpkin.  Apples.  Cranberries.  Pecans.  All in one muffin.
And its vegan too.  Good?  Bad?  You be the judge.
Though we'll all agree that waiting until now to share this with you was a bad choice.

Pumpkin Apple Cranberry Pecan Muffins (adapted from JTB)
Makes 12+ large muffins, or 2 loaves

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon cloves
1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree
1 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup water
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cups fresh cranberries
2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled and diced

Preheat oven to 350*

Mix ingredients flour through cloves.
Add pumpkin, oil, syrup, water and stir well.
Fold in pecans, cranberries, and apples.
Divide batter evenly in large muffin pans or regular loaf pans.
Bake 20-30 minutes.

Raspberries and Cream Muffins

 Living at home for the month has many benefits, one of them being the fresh produce.  We have a plethora of raspberry bushes in our backyard which usually produce a bumper crop of berries in the summer and fall.  Being that there have been several cool nights with frost Mom didn't think there would be many to pick last weekend.  Thankfully she was wrong!  We went down to the patch to just grab a few to pop in our mouths and ended up with a whole bowl.  Since I've been at this new clinic a week and hadn't brought in any baked goods, it was perfect timing.

I remembered the berries and cream muffins we made in the Yukon and decided to do a little Googling to find a similar recipe.  As luck would have it, I stumbled upon the exact one.  We had strawberry and blueberry in the Yukon and I imagine they would work well with whatever berry you have.  Or maybe even peaches!  Though the raspberry were good, I think the strawberry were probably my favorite.

Raspberries and Cream Muffins (adapted from Taste of Home)

Makes 3 dozen muffins


4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups raspberries
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 cup greek yogurt
1 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla


Preheat oven to 400*
Crack eggs in large bowl.  Beat lightly.
Add sour cream, yogurt, oil, and vanilla.
Beat in powder, soda, and salt.
Add sugar.
Stir in flour just until mixed.
Gently fold in raspberries.
Fill greased muffin pan about 3/4 full.
Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Cool on wire rack.

Pistachio Chai Muffins

I may as well admit this now.  I have a few flavor obsessions.  One being mango, the other chai.  Both began during my time in India 2 years ago.  And both are pretty hard to satisfy being back home because nothing beats a tree ripened mango eaten the correct way (check out the picture below), or drinking chai served in a tin cup on the side of the road when its 100+ degrees out.

So when I saw this recipe in the May edition of Cooking Light, I knew I would be making them sooner or later.  And now I'm regretting not making them sooner.  However the radiology and surgery residents will appreciate the delay and that I tripled the recipe.

Here's the basic recipe.  Fortunately for me and unfortunately for you I learned to bake with my mom who hardly measures anything and most recipes which are passed down from her are general ideas.  But don't let that scare you, it just means you can adjust the flavors to your own preference and these muffins will be amazing either way!  One can never have too much cinnamon, so I added a bit to the glaze as well as the muffin batter, along with a few other chai flavors.

Muffin Batter, makes 12
1 cup white flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
A few shakes of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and cardamom
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 (or 3) chai blend black tea bags
1 cup buttermilk (or milk with about 1 teaspoon vinegar added and allowed to sit for 5 minutes)
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup chopped pistachios

Preheat oven to 375.
Mix all the dry ingredients.
Add the contents of the tea bags.
Mix the wet ingredients.  Add to the dry mixture while stirring.
Don't over-stir; leave some lumps and bumps.
Line a muffin tin with 12 paper liners.
Divide batter evenly.  Sprinkle with chopped nuts.
Bake for 15 minutes at 375, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then transfer the muffins to a wire rack.

Glaze
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
splash of milk
dash of cinnamon
While the muffins are baking mix all the ingredients together.  Spoon on top of the mostly cooled muffins.