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cranberry muffin on marble background with crumbs and white napkin
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Meaningful Eats

Gluten-Free Cranberry Orange Muffins

12 muffins
These gluten-free cranberry orange muffins are bursting with fresh cranberries and orange zest and topped with sweet streusel. Make them for a holiday treat or gluten-free Christmas breakfast!
Course Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Resting Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients:

Other Ingredients:

  • 6 ounces cranberries (1 1/2 cups) fresh or frozen
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup brown sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • ½ cup full fat plain yogurt
  • 1 stick butter (1/2 cup) melted
  • 2 teaspoons orange zest
  • 2 tablespoons orange juice

Streusel Topping:

Instructions

  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Finely chop the cranberries.
  • In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, brown sugar, eggs, yogurt, butter, orange juice and orange zest until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula until fully combined. Fold in the chopped cranberries.
  • Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes (or in the fridge overnight). (This is an important step to allow the batter to hydrate.)
  • Meanwhile, make the streusel topping. In a small bowl, add all the topping ingredients and cut the butter into the mixture using a pastry cutter, two forks, or just your fingers until you have pea-sized clumps.
  • Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a standard muffin pan with paper baking cups. Using ice cream scoop or large spoon, portion batter evenly into prepared muffin tin. Top with the streusel topping, pressing the topping lightly into the batter.
  • Bake for 18-22 minutes, until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling. Enjoy!

Notes

INGREDIENT NOTES
  • This recipe works best with full-fat plain yogurt. If you use low-fat yogurt the muffins may be drier. 
  • This recipe with fresh or frozen cranberries. If you're using frozen cranberries do not thaw them. Just chop them up while frozen as best you can and add to the batter as instructed. 
MAKE IT DAIRY-FREE: You can use plain dairy-free yogurt and vegan butter to make these muffins dairy-free. 
LET IT REST: The 30-minute rest is important so the batter has time to hydrate. Gluten-free flours need more time to absorb liquid and this will prevent dry muffins. 
MAKE-AHEAD: You can make this batter the night before and store it covered in the fridge overnight. 
MUFFIN LINERS: I highly recommend this brand of muffin liners for gluten-free baked goods. If you are using another brand, you may want to spray the liners with cooking spray before filling them.
STORAGE/FREEZING: These muffins are best served the day they are made. They can be stored in a ziploc-bag at room temperature for up to 1 day. They can also be frozen by wrapping each muffin individually in plastic wrap then storing in a ziploc-bag. To reheat from frozen, remove the plastic and microwave the muffin for 20 to 30 seconds, until thawed. 

Nutrition

Calories: 221kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 161mg | Potassium: 140mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 231IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 69mg | Iron: 1mg