Switch up your breakfast with these Cranberry Date Walnut Muffins. These healthier muffins made from 100% whole wheat are a great way to start your day.
Cranberry date muffins
For Thanksgiving this year my mom made an awesome upside down cranberry-date-pecan coffee cake. Ever since then I've been craving that cranberry + dried dates combination. I figured it's not a good idea for me to bake a cake this time of year - I have been eating SO much dessert lately, I think I'm going to turn into a cupcake soon.
So instead of a cake (which we would devour without paying any attention to portion control), I made some Cranberry Date Walnut Muffins.
I just love the Cranberry & Date flavor combination - tart fresh (or frozen) cranberries go so well with ultra-sweet dried dates. It's a burst of fresh flavor with every bite. And the walnuts add a little crunchy texture to these muffins. I know not everyone loves nuts in their baked goods, but I just can't get enough of them. I love how nutty and toasted walnuts get when you bake them into a muffin or a quick bread.
More cranberry muffin recipes to try: Orange Cranberry Muffins
And believe it or not - these muffins are made out of whole wheat flour! My secret is using white whole wheat flour in my baking. It doesn't make baked goods as heavy or dense as regular whole wheat flour. That's the reason I love using it, and I can feel good about eating whole grains as my dessert. 🙂
I made these Cranberry Date Walnut muffins a little on the small side on purpose, so that we don't stuff ourselves with a large muffin if we want a snack in the evening. These muffins were perfect for me because they were not too sweet. They had almost a bread-like texture, and they were perfect with coffee - each bite deliciously melting in your mouth.
The batter for these muffins would also work as a quick bread: just pour it into a bread loaf pan and bake at 350 for at least 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Slice the bread, slather with salted butter, and serve for breakfast or as a snack.
Other easy muffins and breakfast treats you will love
- Cinnamon coffee cake muffins with crumb topping
- 2 Ingredient pumpkin muffins
- Blueberry wheat germ muffins
- Banana chia seed muffins
- Pumpkin spice pancakes
- Pumpkin spice whipped coffee
- Perfect oatmeal cookies with dried cranberries
- Mocha dalgona coffee
- Greek yogurt oatmeal blueberry pancakes – with the most delicious blueberry pancake sauce!
- Toffee apple cake
Cranberry Date Walnut Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup cranberries - fresh or frozen
- 1 cup dates - pits removed and toughly chopped
- 1 cup low fat milk - (whole milk is OK too)
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup brown sugar - (or turbinado sugar)
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened apple sauce - (or substitute with vegetable oil if you don't have apple sauce)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1.5 cups white whole wheat flour - (or regular whole wheat flour)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a muffin pan with paper inserts, or spray it with non-stick spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the milk and the vinegar (it will curdle a bit - this is fine!). Add the egg, sugar, apple sauce and vegetable oil and whisk together until everything is well mixed.
- Add the fresh (or frozen - no need to thaw) cranberries and chopped dates.
- In another large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and mix until almost combined. Add the walnuts and mix until combined. Do not overmix, or the muffins will be too dense.
- Add a scant 1/4 cup of batter to each muffin cup. The easiest way to do this is to use a squeeze-release ice cream scoop. If you don't have one, spray a 1/4 cup measurer with non-stick spray so that the batter doesn't stick to the cup. Make sure you distribute the cranberries evenly - my last muffin ended up without a cranberry. 🙁
- Bake at 350F for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Nutrition
The nutritional information displayed is an estimate and not to be used as dietary or nutritional advice. Consult a nutritionist or dietician for nutritional info based on the exact ingredients you use.
[Recipe adapted from menshealth.com]
Hungry for more healthy muffin recipes??

Blueberry Wheat Germ Muffins, recipe here

Banana Chia Seed Muffins with Pecans, recipe here
CakeSpy
Saturday 20th of December 2014
On the day you do turn into a cupcake, could you come to my house? ;-)
I love balancing cranberries with another flavor - nice work.
Kate
Sunday 21st of December 2014
Yea cranberries definitely need some help from other more delicious things. I don't know how people first decided they were edible!
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef
Thursday 18th of December 2014
I would never think to put dates and cranberries together but these sound delicious.
Kate
Thursday 18th of December 2014
Oh yea, it's a great combination! It helps to have chunks of sweet dates in there to balance the tart cranberries.