I made these muffins for a few reasons. One, none of the breakfast cereals that I usually like sounded good to me. Two, we had a lot of apples to use up from the orchard. And three, I hoarded cranberries last fall/winter and decided it was time to use some – you know, so I can hoard some more this year :) I made several substitutions based on what I had around the house and the kind of flavor I was going for. The store was out of fresh figs so I just used some dried figs and rehydrated them, and they actually turned out to be delicious. I also think raisins would be a lovely substitution here.
The mixing method is slightly unique or at least one I haven’t tried before. Basically you combine the dry ingredients as usual, make a well and mix in the liquids, and then mix in the fruits and sugars all at once. I was concerned this might lead to overmixing and therefor a tough muffin, but it didn’t cause any problems at all. The cake part of the muffin was tender and wonderfully spiced, bringing all the mix-ins together nicely. Though I’ve never been much of one for mixing nuts into my baked goods, I think some pecans or walnuts would be great here as well. These made for some nice breakfasts, and definitely a nice change from the usual.
