Skinny White Chocolate Cranberry Muffins
These Skinny White Chocolate Cranberry Muffins are tasty, indulgent and good for your waist line. They are everything you should be having for breakfast.
Before we start with these skinny white chocolate cranberry muffins, I need to confess. We are all friends here right? This is a no judgement zone. After all, we share our deepest love of chocolate, chocolate peanut butter cake and salted caramel here. So don’t judge me when I tell you I believe in silly superstitions. Yes, I am the first one to tell you they are silly but I just can’t help myself because they are so ingrained in me. It’s the African in me I suppose and we have a million superstitions that just stick with you for the rest of your life. Seriously.
You can’t sweep at night otherwise you sweep away all your good luck.ย (I don’t risk it, EVER). You shouldn’t place your hand bag on the floor because you will be eternally broke. I make this mistake once in a while and probably explains my constant lack of funds (or could that just be my Pier 1 addiction? It’s hard to tell). You should never speak out loud your goals for fear they might not be achieved. Again I try to keep good with this. But see even though I think they are silly, a few of these remain with me that I practice/ avoid doing since I don’t want to find out whether the consequences are true or not.
A week ago on Monday, as I walked out of my apartment building, the first thing I saw was a black crow. I stopped in panic. Black crows are just a bad omen. They say (by they, I mean folks that come up with these rules and superstitions) seeing black crows early in the morning is a sign of death. Morbid I know. Especially for a Monday morning. Of course that did not make getting into my car and driving to work especially easy and less terrifying.
Luckily, I have heard no bad news to that effect (knock on wood) but my Monday was horrible in lab and that cloud has been over my head all week long. Everything just seemed to go wrong and get worse. It will pass I know but I just still can’t coincide my religious faith and scientific mind with these superstitions. Conflicted soul here. (Meanwhile, my husband thinks I’m crazy but what’s new?)
Anyways, one thing I am not conflicted or confused about are these skinny white chocolate cranberry muffins. I’ve been craving a new muffin recipe lately and since we are all in the mood for lighter sweets these day, I decided to go for something ‘skinny’ but indulgent to make any morning cheerful.
I used white whole wheat flour in these muffins as I did in this banana coconut bread last week. I don’t know why it took me so long to discover this flour, but it makes for a hearty healthier substitute to all-purpose flour. The muffins are moistened with homemade applesauce and greek yogurt and sweetened with maple syrup. The tartness of juicy fresh cranberries are balanced with the sweetness of creamy white chocolate chips!! Pure indulgence and they say chocolate are anti-oxidants so they are healthy right?
Skinny White Chocolate Cranberry Muffins
These Skinny White Chocolate Cranberry Muffins are tasty, indulgent and good for your waist line. They are everything you should be having for breakfast.
Ingredients
- 2 ยฝ cups white whole wheat flour
- 1โ teaspoon baking soda
- ยผ teaspoon salt
- ยฝ teaspoon cinnamon
- ยผ cup maple syrup (or agave)
- ยฝ cup dark brown sugar
- ยฝ cup Greek Yogurt
- ยฝ cup applesauce
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ยพ cup almond milk, room temperature
- zest of 1 orange
- 1ยฝ cup cranberries
- ยฝ cup white chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease muffin tins and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
- In a small bowl, mix the maple syrup and brown sugar until sugar is smooth. Add in yogurt, applesauce, egg and vanilla extract. Mix until combined. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and gently mix until combined. Slowly add the milk and mix until mixture is thin. Fold in orange zest, cranberries, and white chocolate chips.
- Divide batter into prepared tins. Bake until lightly brown and a tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 12-15 minutes. Let muffins cool completely.
Oh my gosh, I’m totally superstitious too! I have Irish and Italian blood so I get it from both sides… Not to add to your neurosis, but don’t ever leave shoes on the table (bad luck), pass anyone on the stairs (you’ll get in a fight), or burn bayberry scented candles (DEATH!). Your muffins look glorious, my dear! I’d love those tart berries with the nutty whole wheat and a kiss of sweetness from the white chocolate… pure heaven!
Allie oh my gosh!! We were meant to be friends indeed lol! I knew of shoes on the table but not the stairs or bayberry. Now I am freaked out and will never pass anyone on the stairs. Thanks for sending me some good fortunes!! Hahhah. By the way, can I use your description for these muffins? You captured it way better ๐
I’m super superticious as well… I hate black crows :–( Which I don’t hate are these muffins hehe Skinny chocolate muffins with greek yogurt and white chocolate? Sign me up! These babies look super delish ;–) x
Hahah I am glad I am not the only one hating on black crows. Silly things. Thanks girl! I knew you would love the greek yogurt use here!!
One of my good friends is very superstitious too and she always gets on me for leaving my purse on the floor! It’s not even something I think about, lol. These muffins look absolutely divine! I love the skinnier recipes that you’ve been posting!
Renee you should listen to her to save a few pennies lol! I try it but it’s so hard to remember the gazillion rules. Thank you! I’m living the skinny recipes too although I might start cake-ing again soon :0
I am totally superstitious too so you’re not alone! People think I am crazy.. but it’s just how I feel ๐ And I how I feel about this muffins is I need one right now! I love, love the combo of white chocolate and raspberry and they’re skinny! I cannot say enough about your pictures, Zainab. These are so gorgeous! I can’t stop staring at them! It is all fabulous as usual!
Thank you so much Aly!! I’m loving these pictures too. Happy Monday ๐
you are not alone here Zainab. I have so many from my culture too – I do not like stray black cats esp if the cross the road right in front of you, its considered unlucky. I religiously follow that or at least try to when possible..
Oh my gosh Dixya we totally say the same things too. I don’t like black cats because of that lol! Glad I’m not alone ๐
Hi Zainab! These muffins look amazing! You really can’t beat the white chocolate and cranberry flavour combo- definitely one of the best! ๐
Thanks Jess! I know, I just love cranberries and white chocolate :). Happy Monday!
Hopefully this Monday is going a little better than the last! These muffins look delicious- I always love the white chocolate + cranberry combination!
Thanks Meghan! It’s much much better already- despite almost burning my lab down last night but I luckily didn’t get into trouble. It was considered just a mad scientist luck hahah! Hope you have a great week!
My parents were pretty superstitious too and I always thought I’d be different when I grew up but some of those seem to have stuck now that I’m older too. Sorry to hear about that dark cloud around you and hope it passes this week. These muffins look amazing Zainab, I love the flavor combination! White chocolate and cranberries are fantastic and love that you made these skinnier – that means it’s ok to have more than two in one sitting??;)
Kelly it’s funny how some of these things stick to you right? Ahh the woes from our parents lol!! Thank you so much for the sweet comments! And yes because they are healthy I had two are each serving :0 I couldn’t help it!! Hope you are having a great week!
Zainab muffins are one of my biggest weaknesses, these look amazing. Pinning!
Thanks Emily!!
I will take a big basket of these please!
I’m sorry to hear you’ve had that black cloud overhead, and I hope this week is different! These muffins, now — they’re like a sunny day! They really look incredible, and it doesn’t get much better than that flavor combination for me! Happy Monday, Z!
Thanks Marcie! To be honest these muffins did make last week better. And yes this week is off to a better start already ๐
You have got to be so pleased with how these muffins and photos turned out! The recipe looks amazing and your pictures are stunning. So well set up and the lighting rocks! Haha, well, at least you are willing to call them silly, even if they don’t feel like it! I hope you have a wonderful Monday this time around (no crows, fingers crossed! Just kidding:) Pinned!
Thanks Mary Frances! Thankfully there were no crows this morning and the week feels much better already ๐ Hope yours is off to a great start too!