Description
These Paleo Cranberry Orange Muffins are easy to make, perfectly moist, and gluten free as well. The classic cranberry orange combo is so tasty in the colder months and great for festive occasions as well. They can also be made ahead and frozen to make holiday or weekend breakfasts even easier. They’re simply loaded with fresh cranberries but not too tart thanks to the maple syrup that pairs perfectly with the orange. Then to top them off there’s a refined sugar free orange glaze that really rounds out the flavors.
Ingredients
2 cups fine almond flour
1/2 cup tapioca flour, also called tapioca starch
1 Teaspoon ground cinnamon, I like to use Vietnamese
1/2 Teaspoon sea salt
2 Teaspoons baking powder, see notes
1 Teaspoon baking soda
1 Tablespoon orange zest, grated with a micro-plane grater
2 cups frozen cranberries, 7 ounces
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 eggs
1/4 cup melted ghee, butter, or coconut oil
2 Teaspoons vanilla extract
Orange Glaze:
1/4 cup coconut butter
2–4 Tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
1–2 Tablespoons maple syrup
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a muffin tin with 12 muffin cup liners.
In medium sized mixing bowl, stir together the almond flour, tapioca flour, cinnamon, sea salt, baking powder, baking soda, and orange zest until combined and no lumps remain.
Stir in the cranberries, then add the maple syrup, eggs, melted ghee/butter/coconut oil, and vanilla extract. Mix until combined, then portion the batter equally into the muffin cup liners.
Bake the muffins until they’re puffed in the middle and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20-25 minutes for frozen cranberries. If you use fresh cranberries the muffins will cook faster.
Remove the muffins from the oven and place them on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Then carefully remove the muffins from the tin to cool further on the rack.
While the muffins are cooling, melt the coconut butter over low heat in a small saucepan. When the coconut butter has melted, remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the orange juice and maple syrup until you reach thin frosting consistency.
Don’t worry if at first the coconut butter breaks or becomes too thick, simply whisk in a bit more orange juice until it comes back together and is the right consistency. Coconut butter varies greatly from jar to jar, so just add the liquid called for until it’s glossy and ready to drizzle.
When the glaze is ready, drizzle it over the muffins and serve. I like to use a squeeze bottle to make drizzling easy. This glaze never fully sets up like a powdered sugar glaze does, so after glazing you can serve immediately or wait for it to partially dry over the next hour or so.
If you’d like to freeze these, it’s best to leave the glaze off, and then glaze them when you’re ready to serve.
Notes
Baking powder can have all sorts of additives, and isn’t always gluten free or paleo. To be safe, you can make your own by mixing together 1 part baking soda to 2 parts cream of tartar, and use the mixture right away.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 25
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Paleo Muffins, Almond Flour Cranberry Muffins, Healthy Cranberry Orange Muffins, Gluten Free Cranberry Orange Muffins