Maple Cranberry Banana Mini Muffins

I know, the pic isn’t nearly as nice as the normal ones, that’s because Ian is still sick at home and I had to use my old school floppy disk camera. Plus I suck at photography and no amount of photoshoping will fix it. Some time soon Ian is going to teach me how to use his beautiful SLR, but I fear the photography gene is not in me and his camera wont help all that much. I even got out his fancy light box to see if it would help take a better picture. It didn’t, it actually created quite the opposite effect, and so, to help my sadness I ate all four of these mini muffins that I so neatly lined up for the photo shoot, plus a couple more.

Its alright though, these mini's were made for healthy snacking. They are packed full of banana that replace most, but not all of the butter, maple syrup instead of white sugar, whole wheat flour, egg whites, orange zest, walnuts, and glorious cranberries. I took one look at them on food blogga (who's pic is so much nicer) and had to put a Canadian spin on them with some maple syrup and walnuts. Also I tried to cut down the butter to a mere 3 tbsp. Not bad eh.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when bakers don’t put enough cranberries in their muffins, or they only put them on top so that it looks like the muffin is crammed with burst in your mouth berries, but really it is just a dry mess underneath. So, I decided to cram these little guys with cranberries, and then place one on the top like a beautiful red ruby.

They are really good in the morning, and I typically have been eating them before dinner, after dinner, at lunch, and throughout the day. So, I guess they make the perfect anytime snack.

Maple Cranberry Banana Mini Muffins
adapted from Food Blogga
Makes about 36 mini muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg
4 egg whites
2 ripe bananas
zest of one orange
2/3 fresh or frozen, unthawed cranberries
1/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add mini paper muffin cups to mini muffin pan. Combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, combine brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, butter, and eggs; beat until smooth. Add the bananas and orange zest and lightly beat until blended. Add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Fold in the cranberries and walnuts. Spoon the batter evenly into the muffin cups. Bake 13-15 minutes, or until the tops are golden.