Vegan Cranberry Eggnog Muffins

One question I get asked a lot is how to come up with different recipes and have more variety with meals, so I’m going to be talking about that more this month (great for those of you who tend to make New Year’s resolutions around cooking more and eating healthier food!).

One way is very simple ~ I hear about a recipe or dish and want to prepare it. It can happen in lots of ways ~ something I read about in a book, see in a movie, or hear someone talking about it. I tend to be very suggestible when it comes to food – I hear about it and I want to eat it 🙂 Practice noticing what is around – what are people eating or talking about that you can incorporate into your recipes?

This one came from a movie. One of the characters happened to be eating a cranberry eggnog muffin and I thought it would be a perfect December recipe to create and share for your holiday brunch menus. I made them last night and they are great ~ make them now!

Cranberry Eggnog Muffins

• 1 3/4 cup flour (I used white whole wheat flour)
• 1/4 cup organic sugar (or evaporated cane juice) *
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon egg replacer (commercial egg replacer or ground flax work great) *
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup coconut oil (melted)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 cup vegan eggnog (I used Silk Nog)
• 1-1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and prepare a muffin tin (either grease the tin or use paper cupcake liners)

In a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, egg replacer, nutmeg and salt.

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, vanilla and eggnog. I usually just put the jar of coconut oil in the microwave for 30-45 seconds and pour it out of the jar to measure. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until it is all mixed together but don’t overmix. It will be a fairly thick batter.

Fill the muffin tin with the batter. Since it’s so thick, you can fill the cups nearly full and the muffins will be a good size without overflowing. I sprinkled a little extra sugar on the top before putting them in the oven.

Bake for about 25 minutes or until a knife in the center comes out clean. Cool in the tin for a few minutes before removing them. Makes about 15 muffins.

* Notes: If you use liquid sweetener (maple syrup or agave), add with the wet ingredients and you may need to adjust the amount of eggnog or flour to get the right consistency. If you use a wet egg replacer (banana, applesauce, etc), also add it to the wet ingredients.