Cranberry~Banana~Date Muffins

I really have been baking, although sporadically since my oven has been "diagnosed" to have a faulty control panel:-( and I'm still waiting for the part to come in.  Cranberries, from Oregon, are still fresh in the grocery stores, so I treated my family to warm muffins this morning on a rainy day.

Ari loves muffins and they have always been a special treat from the time he was eating solid food. His mama would give him a muffin for his mid-morning snack or a treat when we picked him up from pre-school.  Their favorite places were either Whole Foods or the Co-Op they belonged to and zucchini, banana, cranberry or pumpkin were his favorites.

Muffins are easy to make and can be attributed to America; in fact they date back to the 19th century.  They are a semi-sweet quick bread that is baked for an individual serving, usually without icing, but I "pushed the enveloped" by adding a drizzle this morning and baking them in a mini-bundt pan.

Cranberry~Banana~Date Muffins
2 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup fresh cranberries, washed, dried, and cut in half
1 ripe banana, peeled and mashed
1/2 cup chopped dates
2 large eggs
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup orange juice

Preheat oven to 375F-degrees.  Spray a 6-cup mini bundt pan with a non-stick baking spray or line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.

In a large bowl, measure all the dry ingredients and whisk together to combine.  Add the cranberries and dates and mix again.  (By adding the fruit to the dry ingredients and coating it helps prevents the fruit from sinking to the bottom!)

 Add the wet ingredients and stir well (do not use an electric mixer--the proteins in the flour will get broken down and the batter will be runny!!)

Measure batter in the baking pan you've chosen.  The mini-bundt pan made 8 muffins and you should get 12 regular size from a muffin pan.  Bake for 18 minutes checking for doneness by sticking a wooden skewer into one of the muffins--it should come out cleanly.  Let cool slightly, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

Quick Gaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 T light Karo syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
1-2 T warm water

Mix glaze until the proper consistency for drizzling.  Decorate muffins or mini bundts .

It's just what Ari wanted with a cold glass of milk!  Me too...Enjoy!