Description
Perfectly fluffy and moist cranberry orange muffins. Made with fresh cranberries, orange juice, orange zest, and brown sugar. These muffins make a quick and easy, festive breakfast for busy weekdays!
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour – I used King Arthur’s Measure for Measure flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk like coconut milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup melted butter or coconut oil
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Turbinado sugar for topping – optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Fold in the cranberries to get them all coated in the dry ingredients. This helps to prevent them from sinking to the bottom when they bake.
- In a separate bowl combine the sugar and the orange zest, mixing the zest into the sugar using your hands. This helps to release the oils in the orange zest and make it even more flavorful. Then add in the milk, eggs, butter, orange juice, maple syrup, and vanilla, and mix well.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix to fully combine into a thick muffin batter.
- Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cavities. About 1/3 cup of batter per muffin cavity should work. I like to use an ice cream scoop to do this more easily.
- Top the muffins with more cranberries and raw sugar, if desired. Then bake them for 20-25 minutes, until golden and cooked through.
- Once they are done baking, remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool for a few minutes before you release them from the pan.
- Serve warm with butter or nut butter.
Notes
- Cranberries – you can use fresh or frozen cranberries. If you use frozen cranberries, be sure not to thaw them first or they will bleed into the muffin batter.
- Orange zest – to release the oils from the zest, mix it into the sugar using your hands and not a spoon. This will give the muffins more orange flavor.
- Flour – make sure to use the cup for cup or measure for measure gluten-free all-purpose flour like Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur’s. Use a spoon and a level method to measure the flour more accurately. To do this spoon the flour into the measuring cup and use a butter knife to level it before you add it to the bowl.
- Baking – bake the muffins until a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the muffins comes out mostly clean with little to no wet crumbs on it.
- Storing – you can store these muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days. You can also freeze them by wrapping each muffin in plastic wrap, in a freezer-friendly container for up to 2 months. Defrost them in the refrigerator overnight when you are ready to enjoy them.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 25
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
