Monday, January 3, 2011

Healthy gluten-free cranberry orange muffins

I bought a couple of bags of fresh cranberries since you don't find those year-round in the grocery store.  I wanted to try making something sweet with them, but also somewhat healthy, so I decided to make gluten-free cranberry orange muffins.  They are relatively "healthy" and very flavorful.  I decided that I might like to have a little bit of a glaze on top, so I later added an orange glaze to some, but think that they are best enjoyed without the added sweetness of the frosting.  The cranberries make them really pretty!  (Note that the flours are measured out in ounces.  The best way to cook gluten-free is to use a scale and measure your flours, since the lack of gluten can make things tricky to get the right texture.  Actually, it's a good idea to use a scale when baking in general for precision!)


Gluten-free cranberry orange muffins
3 oz white rice flour
1 oz brown rice flour
0.4 oz potato starch
2.1 oz tapioca starch
1.5 oz soy flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 c butter
6 oz (3/4 cup sugar)
pinch salt
1/4 c buttermilk
1/4 c ground flaxseed
1 egg
2 egg whites
3 Tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice (approx 1 orange)
zest from 2 oranges
4 oz fresh cranberries, chopped


  1. Preheat oven to 350 and line muffin tins with paper muffin cups.
  2. Sift flour and baking powder and set aside.
  3. Cream butter, sugar, and salt on medium speed.  Blend in buttermilk.
  4. Add flour mixture and mix on low just until combined.
  5. Mix zest and cranberries together then add to the batter and mix until combined, but don't overmix.
  6. Scoop into muffin cups and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.
In case you are curious about a simple glaze, here you go:

Orange glaze
1 Tbsp butter, melted
2 tsp orange zest
3 Tbsp orange juice (more or less to taste)
Powdered sugar

  1. Melt butter and add orange juice and zest.
  2. Add powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached.



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