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For a change of pace, try these honey sweetened gluten-free cranberry orange muffins! They stay soft for days, making them an ideal make-ahead breakfast.
It really felt like I was on something of a cookie diet in December, which was all fun and games until I stepped on a scale. So today I wanted to share something lighter, less sweet, and at least a little nutritious! Enter these gluten-free cranberry orange muffins.
I adapted this recipe from my whole grain cinnamon apple muffins. Instead of using whole wheat flour, like I did in the original, these cranberry orange muffins are made with oat flour for a gluten-free version. I’ve had some weirdly gummy and dense oat flour muffins in the past so I was a little shocked when using oat flour resulted in even softer and moister muffins.
If you don’t have oats to make oat flour, I recommend using white whole wheat flour for a non-gluten-free version. Either way, you end up with 100% whole grain muffins. I haven’t tried them with all-purpose flour so if that’s what you want to use, I think Jamie’s cranberry orange mini bundt cakes look amazing!
These muffins are entirely honey sweetened and have a noticeable, but not overpowering, honey taste. At first I was a little leery of the cranberry, orange and honey combination but it worked out surprisingly well! They’re pleasantly sweet, but not cupcake sweet. Instead of adding a glaze on top, I just tossed on some sliced almonds. They’re mostly for decoration so you can leave them out if you don’t have any on hand.
Fresh out of the oven, these muffins are pretty delicate but incredibly light and if you’re like me, it’ll be a struggle not to eat your way through half the batch. After they sit for 30 minutes, they’re a little firmer, meaning they’re easier to handle, but they still retain their soft and light texture for at least two more days.
Whether or not you’re trying to eat a little more healthfully in this post-holiday period, these cranberry orange muffins are a great way to start your day!
Gluten-Free Cranberry Orange Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups gluten-free oat flour*
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ⅔ cup honey
- ¾ cup canola oil or light olive oil
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 1 ¼ teaspoons orange extract
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 ½ cups fresh cranberries divided
- 1/3-1/2 cup sliced almonds for sprinkling on top optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with 12 muffin liners.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the oat flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, honey, oil, orange zest, orange extract, vanilla extract and buttermilk.
- Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir just until combined. Stir in 1 cup cranberries, reserving the rest to sprinkle on the top.
- Divide the batter among the liners, filling almost to the top, and sprinkle the remaining cranberries over the top. Add sliced almonds, if using.
- Bake for 16-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then carefully turn them out onto a wire rack to cool. If you used almonds, you may want to tilt the pan and use a spoon to remove them from the pan so that the almonds don't fall off. Once cool, store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerate for 4 days.
Notes
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Fred – mine came out very crumbly as well – both times. This last time I added 1 tsp xantham gum and they hold together very well!!
That’s strange! What brand of flour did you use? I’m happy you found a solution that works for you! Thanks for sharing your tip.
Thought I’d point out that if you substitute whole wheat flour instead of the oat flour, the muffins are no longer gluten free. Just, ya know, sort of a big difference for some folks for you to oh-so-casually toss that out…there are a lot of folks out there who aren’t quick enough on the uptake to say, “Hey, if she says it’s okay on the website, then it must be safe”!
I mean for those of us for whom “going gluten free” isn’t a fad, but a medical necessity. Because of the ‘fad-y nature of late, many folks don’t take the whole GF thing seriously. Some of us have to take it very, very seriously.
I’m sorry you feel that I didn’t make it clear enough that you have to use oat flour for a gluten-free version! I only mentioned whole wheat flour in the post as an option for those who don’t need a gluten-free version. I try to make my recipes as accommodating as possible for everyone. I’ve added a line about having to use oat flour, as listed in the recipe, for the gluten-free version.
I did let them cool.over night in fact.i did think my wet mix seemed a little to wet. I wonder if that was the problem. i’ll try again thank’s
So strange! Maybe try reducing the buttermilk and oil by a tablespoon each? Good luck with your next attempt! :)
I made these muffins per recipe and although they were delicious they fell apart. had to eat them
with a spoon. what happened? I made the flour from trader joe’s gluten free rolled oats.
I’m sorry to hear that they fell apart! When you take them out of the oven, they’re really soft and will fall apart but after they’ve cooled for about 30 minutes, they should be firm enough to handle and eat without any issues. If you let them cool, I’m not sure what could have caused that! There’s no gluten in the recipe, which is what holds things together, but I’ve always had good luck with this recipe. Was your oat flour nice and powdery or were there some larger chunks in there? That’s the only thing I can think of if you followed the recipe and didn’t make any subs at all.
Finally some thing healthy. Thank you so much for the recipe and this will be a keeper in my little recipe book
You’re welcome, Syahz! I hope that you’ll enjoy the muffins if you get a chance to try them out. :)
Oh these look lovely! YUM!
Thanks, Jessica! :)
Yummmmm!! These look delicious. I love the way you present your recipes btw! :)
What a nice thing to say! Thanks so much. :)
Thanks so much!
These muffins looks so good. I really have to try this because I love cranberries too. Thanks!
Thank you, Karla! I hope you’ll love them as much as I do. :)
I was fortunate enough to stay off the cookie diet this holiday; however, I am sure I committed way too many other food sins. These look great. . .a nice alternative to my oatmeal or yogurt breakfast.
Thanks! And good for you for not going crazy on the cookies. I sometimes can avoid the cookie diet but then it’s the fluffy dinner roll or cheesy carbs diet. ;)
These look and sound delicious! The photos are stunning!
Thank you! I actually took those picture in almost complete darkness so you have no idea how happy your comment made me. :)