Ingredients
Instructions
- Cook quinoa to package directions.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners or spray cups with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cranberries.
- In a small bowl, whisk together oil, honey, milk, egg, quinoa, and vanilla.
- Add milk mixture to flour mixture and stir, just until combined. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until they test done. Transfer to wire rack to cool.
Using Honey in Cooking
Early American settlers kept beehives close to their homes for this purpose because honey is one of the oldest sweeteners still in use today. They noticed that honey gave their breads and pastries more moisture.
Present-day baked items, pies, salad dressings, marinades for grilling, and roasting meat and vegetables all contain honey as a popular ingredient.
One of the nicest honeys available is sourwood honey, which is made by bees that collect nectar from the white blossoms of sourwood trees. It is light golden in color and flavor and has a distinctive caramel-spice aroma.
Advice on Using Honey
Add ginger and garlic to a mixture of honey and soy sauce in equal proportions.
Before roasting or grilling, brush on fish or chicken.
Use in the recipe for your favorite granola.
Combine equal amounts honey, mustard, and mayonnaise to create a honey mustard dipping sauce for chicken wings.
Brush on slices of fresh pineapple and place on the grill.
Use in place of corn syrup in pecan pie and molasses in gingerbread.
Pour over buttered cornmeal, scones, or pancakes.
Add fresh berries on top of plain yogurt after whisking in honey.
Honey is also great to use in dipping sauces like for our Sausage and Sage Arancini Recipe.
Why is Vanilla Extract Important?
Have you ever noticed that most dessert recipes call for vanilla extract? The reason why it is used in baking is because it enhances the flavors of other ingredients like milk and sugar etc. Its most crucial role is to take the edge off of the smell of raw eggs. Usually anything that calls for raw eggs will have at least a splash of vanilla extract to counteract the consistency and smell.
Cooking Tip: Keep in mind while making some desserts that vanilla extract may vaporize when heated as a liquid due to its alcohol content and will result in the loss of some of the flavor.
A few fun facts: vanilla is the most popular flavor in the world and vanilla is the second most expensive flavoring in the world to produce (though saffron takes the lead).
Incredible Recipes with Rice and Quinoa
Using RiceSelect® Rice and Quinoa, you can add an elevated touch to your meals like these Cranberry Quinoa Muffins. Add natural protein and nutrients to your baked goods with our White Quinoa or make it into a wholesome Pizza Crust!
Discover more delicious recipe ideas and cooking tips for home chefs in our Blog and Recipe section including sections like what kind of rice do you use for risotto, tips for how to make couscous or shrimp and rice, what is the best orzo recipe? And more.
