Sweet Potato and Cranberry Muffins with Maple Butter

Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, especially on the weekends. While weekday morning are a rush to get everyone out the door and to school or work, I like that we plan to sit down and enjoy a nice breakfast together for one weekend morning with pancakes or muffins, and omelets or quiche. My guys love muffins with any kind of fruit in them, and I like to mix and match the flavors. These autumn muffins are made whole grains, but have a light texture, not heavy at all. I make them with mashed sweet potatoes, cranberries, and butter, and my guys gobble them up. Like all my muffins, I make a double batch and save some for the next day.

I used Kerrygold butter in this recipe, one of my very favorite butters. The flavor is rich and the texture is so creamy, and it is fabulous in these muffins and maple butter. I use unsalted butter for baking, but I use salted in the maple butter and even add a bit of sea salt to balance the sweetness of the maple syrup. I whip up the maple butter a day or two ahead and just keep it chilled until that morning, then let it sit at room temperature until the muffins are ready. You may find yourself spreading that delicious flavored butter on your toast and other breads.

The sweet potatoes are easy to prepare, just peel and cut into small pieces and steam in a little water until tender. Mashed sweet potatoes and pumpkin puree can be used interchangeably in many recipes, and like the pumpkin puree, the texture of the cooked sweet potato is crucial. Baked is too dry, boiled is too wet, but cooked in a small amount of liquid will steam the potato tender without waterlogging it. One time saver I like is to make a batch of mashed sweet potatoes for dinner, and just set aside some of the cooked potatoes to make muffins later.

The maple butter will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week. I prefer the dark Grade B Maple Syrup for the butter, but use whatever is available in your area.

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Sweet Potato and Cranberry Muffins with Maple Butter

Maple butter recipe adapted from Cooking Light.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time23 mins

Total Time43 mins

Course: Bread, Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Keyword: autumn, cranberries, maple syrup, muffins, sweet potatoes, whole grains

Servings: 12 muffins

Calories: 348kcal

Author: Andrea Meyers

Equipment

• small mixing bowl
• hand mixer
• 2-quart pot with lid
• small bowl
• muffin tin, greased
• 3-quart mixing bowl
• stand mixer with paddle attachment

Ingredients

• ½ cup dried cranberries
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• ⅔ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup sweet potato puree
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)
• 2 large eggs

MAPLE BUTTER

• 8 tablespoons Kerrygold Salted Butter (softened)
• 4 tablespoons maple syrup
• ⅛ teaspoon sea salt

SWEET POTATO PUREE

• 12 ounces sweet potato (peeled and cut into small chunks)

US Customary - Metric

Preparation

Maple Butter

• Combine the softened butter, maple syrup, and sea salt in a small bowl. Beat with a hand mixer at medium speed until smooth, about 1 minutes. Cover and chill. Soften at room temperature to serve.

Sweet Potato Puree

• In the 2-quart pot, put the potato pieces in ½-inch of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook until fork tender, about 10 more minutes. Drain and allow the potato to cool to room temperature. Mash well.

Muffins

• Preheat the oven to 350° F/175° C. Soak the dried cranberries in a bowl of hot water until soft.
• Whisk together the whole wheat pastry flour, unbleached all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and allspice in a the 3 quart mixing bowl; make a well in center of mixture.
• In the bowl of the stand mixer using the paddle attachment, mix sugar, 1 cup of the mashed sweet potato, melted butter, and eggs on low speed. If the mixture is very wet and the butter doesn't mix in well, add another tablespoon or two of sweet potato and mix well. Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients, stirring with a spatula just until moistened, about 15 turns. Drain the soaked cranberries and fold in with the muffin mixture. Scoop the batter into the greased muffin pan, filling each cup about ⅔ full.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the muffins are golden brown, about 20 to 23 minutes. Remove from the pan immediately, and cool on wire racks for a few minutes, then serve with the Maple Butter.

Nutrition

Calories: 348kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 67mg | Sodium: 267mg | Potassium: 284mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 27g | Vitamin A: 9012IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 43mg | Iron: 1mg

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[Disclosure: I am a member of the Cooking Light Bloggers' Connection and worked on this recipe for Kerrygold as part of my partnership with Cooking Light.]