Description

These Fresh Cranberry Orange Muffins are a delightful blend of tart cranberries and zesty orange, baked into moist, tender muffins perfect for breakfast or a snack. Made with wholesome whole wheat flour, natural sweeteners, and Greek yogurt, they offer a healthier twist without compromising flavor. The muffins have a crunchy turbinado sugar topping for an extra touch of sweetness and texture.

Ingredients

Scale

Fruit

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

Dry Ingredients

2 cups white whole wheat flour or regular whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine salt
1 tablespoon turbinado sugar (also called raw sugar), for sprinkling on top

Wet Ingredients

⅓ cup melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil or melted unsalted butter
¾ cup honey or maple syrup
2 eggs, preferably at room temperature
1 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Zest from 1 medium orange (about 1 teaspoon), preferably organic

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

Preheat and Prepare Muffin Tin: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease all 12 cups of your muffin tin or line them with muffin papers to prevent sticking.
Process Cranberries: Using a food processor, pulse the cranberries for about 5 seconds to break them into small pieces, but avoid pureeing them to maintain texture. Set aside the chopped cranberries.
Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, and fine salt until well combined.
Combine Wet Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk the melted coconut oil (or preferred oil/butter) with honey (or maple syrup). Add the eggs one at a time and whisk well. Then add the Greek yogurt, vanilla extract, and orange zest, mixing until smooth and well incorporated.
Combine Wet and Dry Mixtures: Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Gently stir with a large spoon just until the batter is combined; a few lumps are okay and should not be over-mixed.
Fold in Cranberries: Carefully fold in the processed cranberry pieces to evenly distribute them throughout the batter.
Fill Muffin Cups and Add Sugar: Evenly divide the batter among the 12 muffin cups, filling each nearly full. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with turbinado sugar for a crunchy finish.
Bake: Place the muffin tin in the preheated oven and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until the muffins are golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool and Serve: Remove the muffins from the oven and set the tin on a cooling rack. After a few minutes, run a butter knife along the edges to loosen the muffins and remove them from the tin. Let cool before serving.
Storage: Store leftover muffins covered at room temperature for up to 2 days, refrigerate for up to 5 days, or freeze for up to 3 months for longer storage.

Notes

This recipe is adapted from healthy blueberry muffins.
Using different fat percentages of Greek yogurt works well, higher fat results in richer muffins.
Plain (non-Greek) yogurt can be substituted but may decrease rising.
To make the muffins vegan, replace eggs with flax eggs and yogurt with vegan buttermilk or thick vegan yogurt.
For a dairy-free version, use the vegan buttermilk substitute described.
To make egg-free, substitute flax eggs for regular eggs.
To make gluten-free, use an all-purpose gluten-free flour blend.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 muffin
Calories: 180
Sugar: 12g
Sodium: 120mg
Fat: 7g
Saturated Fat: 2g
Unsaturated Fat: 5g
Trans Fat: 0g
Carbohydrates: 28g
Fiber: 3g
Protein: 5g
Cholesterol: 40mg