The Ultimate Healthy Cranberry Orange Muffins
These muffins are one of my favorite wintertime breakfasts! They’re as tender as cupcakes (yum!!) and full of sweet sunshiny orange flavor, which acts as the perfect complement to the tangy cranberries. They’ll keep for at least one week if stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (240g) white whole wheat flour or gluten-free* flour (measured like this)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp (14g) orange zest (about 2 large)
- 1 tbsp (14g) unsalted butter or coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large egg whites (room temperature)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tsp liquid stevia
- ½ cup (120g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup (60mL) freshly squeezed orange juice (about 1 large)
- ½ cup (120mL) nonfat milk
- 1 ½ cups (165g) fresh whole cranberries, finely diced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and coat 12 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest. In a separate bowl, whisk together the butter or coconut oil, egg whites, vanilla extract, and vanilla stevia. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Stir in the orange juice. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, and stirring just until incorporated. (For best results, add the flour mixture in 3 equal parts.) Gently fold in the cranberries.
- Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350°F for 19-22 minutes or until the tops are firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the muffin cups for 5 minutes before carefully transferring to a wire rack.
Notes
IMPORTANT MEASURING NOTE: Be sure to measure the flour correctly, using this method or a kitchen scale. (← That's the one I own and love!) Too much flour will dry out your batter, and your muffins won't turn out as moist and tender.
FLOUR ALTERNATIVES: Whole wheat pastry flour, regular whole wheat flour, or all-purpose flour may be substituted for the white whole wheat flour.
STEVIA NOTE + ALTERNATIVES: I highly recommend using the liquid stevia! I buy mine online here because that's the cheapest price I've found. (And you'll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!)
If you prefer, 8-10 tablespoons of pure maple syrup, honey, or agave may be substituted for the liquid stevia, and the milk should be reduced to 1-3 tablespoons, accordingly, to compensate for the added liquid. (The muffin batter should be fairly thick!)
MILK ALTERNATIVES: Any milk may be substituted in place of the nonfat milk.
CRANBERRY NOTES: The cranberries should be measured when whole, then diced! To quickly dice the cranberries, add them to a food processor, and pulse until they’re no larger than ¼ of their original size.
FROZEN CRANBERRIES ALTERNATIVE: Frozen and thawed cranberries that have been patted dry to remove any excess moisture may be substituted for the fresh.
DRIED CRANBERRIES ALTERNATIVE: In a pinch, ¾ cup of diced dried cranberries that have been hydrated may be substituted. To hydrated the dried cranberries, add them to a microwave-safe bowl, add water until it rises ½” above the cranberries, and cover the top with a lid or plastic wrap. Microwave on HIGH for 1 minute. Let the cranberries sit while preparing the muffin batter. Just before mixing them in, drain and pat dry.
IMPORTANT MUFFIN LINERS NOTE: Be VERY careful if using liners! Generously coat the liners with nonstick cooking spray before adding the muffin batter. This batter will stick to liners like superglue if they aren’t coated with cooking spray.
GLUTEN FREE VERSION: For the gluten-free flour, I recommend the following: 1 cup (120g) millet flour, ½ cup (60g) brown rice flour, ½ cup (60g) tapioca flour, and 1 ½ teaspoons xanthan gum. Most store-bought gluten-free blends (like this one!) will work as well, if measured like this.
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, lower sugar}
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I'd love to hear what you think of it in a comment below! If you take a picture, tag @amys.healthy.baking on Instagram or use the hashtag #amyshealthybaking.