Do you know the muffin (wo)man? Yep, that’s me.

Have you seen the Kashi commercials that show all those rugged, sporty folks in T-shirts and hiking boots scouring the earth for the world’s “best-tasting healthy foods”? Well these cranberry wheat muffins (made with everyone’s fave breakfast food, cracked wheat) turned out to be amazingly yummy little guys. And in the crazy world of muffins where an innocent-looking pumpkin or blueberry can run upward of 600 calories (eek!), these golden-brown morsels of yum in a tin come off looking like the gold standard for health and nutrition. I think Kashi would be proud.

My favorite thing about these muffins (besides the touch of nostalgia that I mentioned early this week) is that they taste like an acceptable breakfast option. By that I mean they don’t taste like cake. Now don’t get me wrong, I can appreciate a sugary dose of muffin-y goodness (these pumpkin muffins are a prime example), but on most mornings, I’d rather start the day with something that won’t have me crashing two hours later. And with this abundance of baked goods, I think my mornings are set for the rest of the week.

As for the recipe, I stuck pretty closely to the instructions printed on the back of the cracked wheat cereal box, with a few minor adjustments to suit our tastes (such as dried cranberries instead of raisins, in almost double the quantity).

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Cranberry wheat muffins

• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup cracked wheat cereal
• 1 1/4 cup dried cranberries (raisins would be great, too)
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup canola oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line 12 muffins cups.

In a saucepan, bring water and cracked wheat cereal to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer covered for seven minutes (stirring occasionally). Remove saucepan from heat, and add cranberries to cereal, then let sit for three minutes.

In the meantime, mix flours, sugar, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, mix eggs, milk, oil and cooked cereal with cranberries. Add wet mixture to dry mixture, and mix just until blended.

Fill muffin cups, and cook for 20 – 25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Remove muffin wrapper (unless you have a taste for paper/foil), and eat until your heart’s content.

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And there you have it: healthy food meets yummy food. No complaints here.

XO,
Katrina