I've been feeling like muffins for about a week now. Sort of an odd craving, I guess, but most mornings lately, I've been wishing I had something sweet to start my day--or any time of the day. Since the craving started taking over any after-work fatigue, I finally got around to doing a little baking tonight. I got started a little late in the evening, so I kept it easy--which also meant substituting a few ingredients because I didn't want to run out to the store to pick anything up. And, of course, I wanted to keep it healthy, so I modified more than a few things. The result was better than satisfactory (taking into account all the substitutes I made), though my major regret was not adding chocolate chips--which doesn't really help with the healthy factor but always makes things taste better.
It's already well past 11PM now, so this will be short and sweet. Without further ado, here is...my cranberry pecan loaf! (Okay, so it's not muffins, but close enough).
Cranberry Pecan Loaf
Adapted from The New Best Recipe's "Cranberry-Nut Bread"
Makes one 9"x5" loaf
Preheat the oven to 375F degrees, and grease a 9"x5" loaf pan.
1. Mix together in a bowl:
- 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 t. salt
- 1 t. baking powder
- 1/4 t. baking soda
2. Stir together in a separate bowl:
- 1 large egg
- 2/3 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
- 1/3 cup apple sauce
- 3 T. vegetable oil
3. Pour the liquid mixture from #2 into the bowl with the dry mixture from #1, and stir together until just combined.
4. Add to the bowl and mix together:
- 2/3 cup chopped pecans (lightly toasted, optional)
- 1-1/2 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
(add chocolate chips if you want, too)
5. Pour the batter into the greased pan. Bake at 375F degrees for 20 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350F and bake an additional 40 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack completely before slicing (which I almost never do but should because cooling completely makes cutting easier).
