This recipe serves as a muffin or bread recipe, and it calls for a few fresh oranges, or today, it was clementines. Since I’m a huge fan of clementines, as is the rest of the clan here, as soon as they appear in markets, I buy about two bags of them a week. They disappear rather quickly – about three a day for each of us, but they can be stored in the fridge to last a while longer if you find you have too many.
I love valencia orange cake, but I don’t always have the time to boil oranges for 2 hours – which is where this recipe comes in. It’s not a substitute, but it has enough sweet citrus flavor to satisfy a bit of the craving.
Orange Cranberry Muffins
You can substitute another orange in this recipe. If it is larger than a clementine, adjust the amount of rind and orange to come close to the amount of clementine in the recipe. And if you’re not excited about the idea of orange rind bits in your muffin, you can grate the rind and add it separately, or leave it out.Ingredients (makes 8 muffins)
- 2 1/2 cups of blanched almond flour
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 3/4 teaspoon of baking soda
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup of honey
- 3 tablespoons of melted butter or oil
- 1 1/2 cups of finely chopped cranberries (fresh or frozen)
- 2 clementines (or the equivalent amount of another orange)
- 1/2 cup of walnuts (optional)
Preparation
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F.
- Remove the rind from one clementine, and leave the rind on the other one (do remove any stuff that is not edible on the orange – like the stub where the stem was). Process both clementines in a food processor, or blend until you have tiny bits of orange mush. Add it to a mixing bowl.
- Add the remaining wet ingredients to the mixing bowl, and then add the dry ingredients.
- Combine well and place the batter into cupcake liners or into a loaf pan if you’re making bread.
- Bake the muffins for 35 minutes, or until the tops are browned and a toothpick comes out clean. A loaf of bread will take about 10 minutes longer to bake (about 45 to 50 minutes).
- Cool and enjoy! I store these in the frig and reheat them at 350 degrees F for about 7 minutes.
I purchased Bobs Red Mill almond flour before I found your website advising against baking with this type of almond flour/meal. Since you said it was OK to use for banana breads, I was wondering if that almond flour/meal would be OK to use in this cranberry orange muffin recipe. I am frustrated that I spent so much money on a product that can’t be used for baking and now I don’t know what to do with it. Hoping to use it up making muffins. Also, do you have an estimate on the amount of liquid that would be obtained from using the 2 clementines? My family prefers navel oranges and I was wondering if that would be a good substition, however they are much larger than clementines. thanks for your help Phyllis
Hi Phyllis – yes, the almond meal works well with muffins and breads, and the same measurements apply for both almond meal and almond flour. Regarding the clementines, I’d estimate that you get about 1/2 cup of orange juice from 2 clementines. Also, I might add the rind of the navel orange – just zest – I’m not sure how the rind of a navel orange would work out. But let us know if you try it. Hope that helps!
Hello, I cannot use honey, agave nectar, sugar, etc. I use a product called Whey Low which is a low glycemic index sugar replacer. I am wondering about the honey content in your recipes. If I am substituting Whey Low (which measures exactly like sugar), how much would I use? In other words, this recipe for example calls for 1/2 c honey. How much “other sweetener” should I use?
Melinda, good question, but I’m not sure about Whey Low. I know that sugar to honey and agave is usually a one to one substitution, but I’m not sure about other sweeteners. Does the product label or company offer substitution measurements?
All of you’re muffins look amazing,they jump off the page! I cant wait to try them. I’ve only baked with almond flour once and it was in bread so ill have to get some for you’re recipes! Do you think subbing canola oil for melted butter would work? Thanks 🙂
Yes, I do think oil is ok to sub for butter, but I can’t remember if I have actually tried it. I have done it with cakes though.
I just made these muffins yesterday, and they were great! Thanks for sharing this recipe — it was my first attempt at baking with almond flour! I blogged about it here: http://tinyurl.com/2cdu429
Hey Betherann – very cool site. Glad it worked out – the muffins and all. How do you like the almond flour brand?
I used half blanched almond flour and half almond meal from TJ’s (because it’s cheaper) and a little less honey b/c I like things on the less sweeter side. But they came out Great! Super moist and zesty 🙂 This is the perfect breakfast muffin.
Can you use stevia for sweetener. I need to stay away from honey or agave.
Do you think I could use orange extract instead of fresh oranges? If so, what would you recommend to replace their liquid?
Any ideas if this would work without the egg? Or anything to sub for the egg? I just started SCD and am having a hard time finding things to eat since I can’t do eggs or dairy.
Hi, I’m new to SCD, but have been GF for a year and a half. I made your muffins this morning to use up some of my leftover fresh cranberries. The muffins turned out super moist and have a great muffin top – nicely rounded and looking very grainy so that you know there’s lots of good stuff in them. I did cut the honey by half and am still deciding if there’s a need for a bit more. I also added almond and vanilla extracts. Great recipe, I look forward to making this again as a breakfast on the go for week days!
Yes, these are dense muffins. I love loading them with lots of cranberries! thanks!
This recipe looks delicious. Would dried cranberries work in the recipe?
Thanks,
Cindy
I substituted the zest of 2 lemons and the juice of two lemons for the orange, and 1 1/2 cups of blueberries and they were awesome! Great recipe
Might be a silly question, but are the cranberries raw or cooked? If raw, what’s the best way to chop them? I have a small food processor that might work but not sure. Thanks! (and it’s a gorgeous picture of those muffins)
Thanks! No question is too silly (and I happen to love silly questions), yes, they’re raw. I found the best way is to pulse them a few times in a food processor, but if you don’t have one then carefully chop them by hand with a knife.
I’ve made these muffins several times the past month or so and we have all thoroughly enjoyed them. We’ve made them with dried cranberries, enjoy life chips, etc all delicious. I did exchange the honey for maple syrup (1/3 cup) and I do use unblanched almond flour (nuts.com), bio oranges instead of clementines, but still delicious and filling! Thank you for this lovely addition to our morning! 🙂
These are very good.! I can’t eat eggs so substituted 1/3 cup applesauce for 1 egg & 1 Tbsp flax seed meal + 3 Tbsp water for the other egg. I probably could have used one or the other for both eggs but was worried how they would turn out.
I used agave nectar for the honey since I was out & coconut oil for the butter/oil. So delicious! And my husband loves them too. 🙂
Thanks for sharing all your subs!
Hi there, your site has been my go to since my 11 yr old grandson was diagnosed with Crohns . I used 2 cuties and sweet cherries for these muffins but otherwise followed the recipe. I set my oven timer for 20mins so as to turn the muffin pan and was super surprised that the muffins were already done. I haven’t had any problems with my oven in the past so I’m wondering if others have found that 35 min bake time is too long.
Thanks, Kris. Not sure if it’s too long but I’ll test it the next time I make them. Best wishes to your and your grandson!