When cranberries are in season I find myself falling in love with their wonderful tart flavor all over again and looking for great ways to use them. The gift of a bag of pecans from a friend’s tree was the primary inspiration behind this recipe.
Using the orange zest and juice, plus a little maple syrup offers the perfect amount of sweetness. The applesauce provides moisture and helps make this an egg-free muffin.
If you prefer using dry cranberries you can substitute ½ cup that has been soaked in hot water and then rinsed and patted dry. Be sure to look for dry cranberries that have no added sugar or sulfur dioxide.
The use of cinnamon adds a warm, cozy Fall flavor making these gluten free muffins perfect for a snack with a cup of tea. I confess I’ve been known to add muffins to the menu for breakfast/brunch on occasion. Because of the lower sugar content, these muffins would be a good choice for that.
Enjoy!
Fall Favorite Muffins
Ingredients
- Dry ingredients:
1 1/2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 cup fresh cranberries, slightly chopped
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Zest of 2 oranges
- Wet ingredients:
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup avocado oil
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (from the zested oranges)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F
- Line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease it with avocado oil
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients and mix well to combine thoroughly
- In a separate bowl whisk together the wet ingredients until fully combined
- Gently fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined
- Do not overmix
- Spoon mixture into muffin cups, filling each cup to ⅔ full
- Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes or until an inserted cake pick comes out clean
- Remove muffins from the oven and cool 5 minutes in the tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool all the way