Cranberry Orange Muffins {Gluten Free & Vegan}

The brightness of fresh cranberries really shines through in these delicious vegan muffins

Guys, the winter is killing me.  This past weekend, I was heading up to Jersey to host a brunch with my mom.  Knowing we were having a bunch of people over, I made a nice big batch of muffins.  I drove up north with my sister, and Brendan was going to join me later in the afternoon with my stuff and my muffins.  And then it started to snow.  Again.  What had been forecasted as a chance of flurries ended up as four-plus inches of ice and snow.  Needless to say, Brendan ended up snowed in at home while I was stuck in New Jersey, sans-muffins.  It was a sad day.

I suppose there are worse things than being stuck with a container full of hearty muffins…

Brunch ended up going well anyway.  My mom and I threw together a coffee cake, and had I not been lamenting my stranded muffins nobody would have been the wiser.  But lament I did because, well, the muffins were delicious!  Moreover, I made a couple dozen of these babies.  What were two of us going to do with all of these things?  The answer, of course, is gorge ourselves on them all week!

These muffins turned out really well, even if nobody else ever got a chance to eat them.  The muffins themselves aren’t overly orangey or sweet, but they are very flavorful.  By using fresh instead of dried cranberries, each bit provides a burst of juice and a bright, slightly tart, flavor.  That tartness is balanced out, though, by the sweetness of the cinnamon sugar topping.  We’ve preferred eating them warm, either popping them in the microwave for about ten seconds or in the toaster oven for a few minutes, but you can definitely eat them at room temperature as well.  Either way, I know these muffins would have been a hit at brunch.  Although, I must admit I’ve been enjoying eating them all week.  So, I guess that blasted snowstorm afforded us a happy little accident after all.

Cranberry Orange Muffins {Gluten Free & Vegan}

Adapted from http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/cranberry-orange-crunch-muffins-recipe

Streusel topping makes everything better!

Ingredients

• 2 cups gluten free flour, with xanthan gum
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp flaxseed dissolved in 3 tbsp warm water
• ¼ cup canola oil
• ¾ cup almond milk
• ¼ cup orange juice
• ½ tsp orange peel
• 1 cup fresh cranberries, chopped (I used the food processor)
• ¼ cup finely chopped pecans
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2. Combine chopped pecans, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, white sugar, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the chopped cranberries so they are coated with the flour mixture.
4. In a medium bowl (or four cup measuring cup) combine flax egg, oil, almond milk, orange juice, and orange zest.
5. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined.
6. Scoop the batter into the muffin tin. Top muffins with the brown sugar mixture.
7. Bake for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Serve warm, or transfer to a wire rack to cool.

These muffins have a fantastic brightness from the fresh cranberries, balanced out by the sweet streusel topping. Gluten free and vegan, on Quinoa & Cookies