Cranberry Almond Applesauce Muffins #MuffinMonday

These cranberry almond applesauce muffins are tender and sweet, but not too sweet! They are perfect for snack time or breakfast with the addition of rolled oats.

A couple of weeks ago, I made homemade applesauce because one of lovely ladies who help us care for Mom suggested that applesauce would be handy to help her swallow her pills. It is really is! 

The only problem is that I made so much applesauce (four apples worth) and Mom only eats a little spoonful a day so I was concerned that it would turn bad before we used it up. 

Enter these applesauce muffins! They use 2/3 cup or 173g of applesauce and are absolutely delicious. 

Cranberry Almond Applesauce Muffins

This recipe make a small batch of six regular size muffins. If you have homemade applesauce, by all means, use it but store-bought works fine as well. Just try to buy one without a lot of added sugar. These muffins don’t need it. 

Ingredients

1 cup or 125g flour

1/4 cup or 25g rolled oats

1/4 cup or 50g brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

Pinch salt

1 large egg

2/3 cup or 173g applesauce

1/4 cup or 60ml canola or other light oil, plus extra for greasing the muffin pan

1/2 cup or 45g dried cranberries

1/4 cup or 30g sliced toasted almonds

Optional for topping: more dried cranberries and almonds

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and grease a six-cup muffin pan. 

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, applesauce and oil.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold until they are just mixed. 

Add the cranberries and almonds and fold again. 

Divide the batter between the six muffin cups. Top with a few cranberries and sliced almonds, if desired. 

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Cool on a wire rack. 

Enjoy! 

It's the last Monday of the month so that means it's time for my Muffin Monday friends to share their recipes. Check out the links below: 

• Cinnamon Roll Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Cranberry Almond Applesauce Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Lemon Filled Gingerbread Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Pumpkin Orange and Date Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sourdough Eggnog Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

Pin these Cranberry Almond Applesauce Muffins!

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Sweet Sourdough Pumpkin Buns

These sweet sourdough pumpkin buns are soft, fluffy and flavorful. Sweetened with brown sugar, they are the perfect bread to serve with to your Thanksgiving feast. 

I am here to tell you that my sourdough starter, John Dough, is a survivor! I abandoned him in my Houston refrigerator in May and when I got back in September, I fed him a couple of times and he is back to normal. Go, John, go! 

I had a back up plan, though. In her fabulous book, The Sourdough Whisperer, Elaine Boddy gives useful and easy to follow instructions on how to dry out a sourdough starter for foolproof transport. I tried it with Jane Dough (my Jersey, CI starter) before I headed back here to Houston but then I didn’t need to use it when John revived.

What that means though is that I have dried sourdough starter to share, if a friend happens to need some or if John Dough gets into a slump. I can highly recommend connecting with Elaine if you love baking with sourdough and/or want to get started. Her books are great for experienced bakers and beginners alike. Plus she’s a really nice person. Tell her Stacy from the delicious. group sent you!

Sweet Sourdough Pumpkin Buns 

The dough for these sweet buns uses a fed sourdough starter. Your dough will rise nicely but there isn’t a pronounced sharpness from the starter. This recipe was adapted from one on Aberle Home.

Ingredients for 12 buns

1/2 cup or 113g FED sourdough starter (100% hydration)

1/4 cup or 60ml milk, lukewarm

1/2 cup or 120g canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling!)

2/3 cup or 132g dark brown sugar

1 large egg

2 3/4 cup or 344g unbleached bread flour

1/4 cup or 56g butter, softened

3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Optional to finish: 2 tablespoons melted butter

Method

In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix together the fed starter, milk, canned pumpkin, brown sugar and egg until well combined. 

Sift in the flour and mix again until there is no dry flour showing. 

Cover and allow to rest for 30 minutes. Mix in the butter and salt until thoroughly combined. 

Knead on medium speed (or in the bowl by hand) for an additional 8-10 minutes or until the dough becomes very smooth and elastic. You might need to scrape the bowl down a time or two at the beginning to incorporate butter that has stuck to the sides. I did. 

This is a really soft dough. Form it into a ball as best you can in the bowl, and cover. Allow to rise at room temperature until it has doubled in volume or overnight in the refrigerator. (If you do an overnight cold prove, allow time for the dough to come back to room temperature before continuing with the next steps.) 

I did a slow overnight rise for this batch of buns because I believe that the extra time also makes the dough more manageable. 

Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and divide it into 12 pieces (weigh dough for uniform buns - my whole dough ball weighed 864g/12 = 72g for each bun.) 

Dampen your hands with a little water so the dough doesn’t stick to them then form the dough into a tight ball by pinching the sides to the bottom. Cup your hand around the dough ball and push it around gently to create a nice round ball. 

Repeat to shape remaining pieces of dough. 

Place the balls in a baking pan lined with baking parchment, leaving room for them to rise. Ideally, they will touch once they have risen. For these buns, I used a 9x13 in or 23x33cm pan. Cover them with cling film and leave to rise for about 45-55 minutes.

If it’s cold in your kitchen and you have a microwave, put water in a microwavable bowl and heat it to almost boiling. Set the pan of buns on top of the bowl and leave the microwave closed for the rising time. Works like a charm. 

Near the end of your rising time, preheat your oven to 375°F or 190°C.

Bake the buns on the center rack for 12-15 minutes or until they are lightly golden on the edges. (The centers should read 185°F or on an instant-read thermometer when done.) Cool in the baking pan on a cooling rack. 

These are divine served warm. I like to brush them with some melted butter. You might like to as well. 

Enjoy!

It’s the second Tuesday of the month so that means it’s time for my fellow Bread Bakers to share their recipes. Since Thanksgiving is nigh, we are sharing breads that would be excellent additions to your Thanksgiving feast. Check out the list below. Many thanks to our host Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen.

• Crispy Sage and Garlic Parmesan Rolls by A Messy Kitchen
• Easy Sourdough Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls by Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Keto Coconut Flour Sandwich Thins by Sneha’s Recipe
• Sourdough Cloverloaf Rolls by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sweet Sourdough Pumpkin Buns by Food Lust People Love
• Thanksgiving Stuffing Rolls by Karen’s Kitchen stories

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin these Sweet Sourdough Pumpkin Buns!

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