Cranberry Sauce Muffins

This warm weather is great, but don't you miss the carby, comforting days of November and December just a little bit?  Your former enthusiasm for clean, white snowfall that keeps you inside, watching a movie on the couch? These muffins evoke the flavor of the holidays by using the same spices and fruit you expect from a Thanksgiving meal.  And in keeping with my ongoing love affair with the muffin, they're healthy enough for breakfast or a coffee break with guests, and they freeze perfectly for later consumption.

Cranberry Sauce Muffins

Makes about a dozen muffins

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
½ cup quick cooking oats
½ cup brown sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon ground flax seed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons orange rind
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 large apple, grated
1 ½ cups dried cranberries
¾ cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Grease a 12-cup muffin tin.

In a large mixing bowl, combine egg, milk, brown sugar. And grated apple.  Add all remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly; dough should be thick, but you can add milk if it’s difficult to stir.

Fill muffin tins 2/3 full.  Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with more brown sugar if you like.  Bake 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.  Cool on wire racks and serve or freeze until ready for use.