These gluten free Cranberry Orange Muffins are perfect for everyday yet special enough for a brunch buffet. Cranberry and orange is a magic combination you see from October when cranberries come out right through the winter season when citrus fruit is at its' peak. If you're new to gluten free, muffins are the easiest recipe to master so give these a try.
I love a muffin in the morning so I keep some in the freezer to grab and go. I have a handful of recipes I make year after year and over time I perfected a gluten free version of every one of them. You can see how I vary those recipes in this roundup post, Gluten Free Muffins.
Originally this was a coffeecake recipe but at the time I couldn't create the structure it needed to hold the streusel topping. If you want to try that double the xanthan gum and bake it in a Bundt pan.
Ingredients
If you love a streusel topping there are several ways you can make it and some don't even use flour. You can compare this recipe with the one on my Rhubarb Streusel Muffins or even the stuffing in my recipe for Baked Apples. I don't have a favourite, I just love it!
Streusel Topping
- brown sugar
- EGFG gluten free flour blend* (or brown rice flour or sweet rice flour)
- butter
- walnuts
- orange zest
- cinnamon
Muffins
- EGFG gluten free flour blend (sweet rice flour, potato starch, sorghum flour and millet flour)
- sugar
- orange zest
- baking powder
- baking soda
- xanthan gum
- cinnamon
- butter
- orange juice
- egg
- fresh or frozen cranberries
See recipe card for exact amounts.
Understanding Gluten Free Flour
No gluten free flour blend can do all the things that wheat flour does in baking. As a home cook you simply need to get in the kitchen and try. Recipes most often call for a flour blend of some type and I've tried my share.
I finally found success remaking old muffin recipes when I started using what I now call my EGFG flour blend. Potato starch gave my baking a smooth texture and sweet rice flour made a nice moist muffin without a gluten-free taste.
Yet lots of you have more dietary restrictions so people in my cooking classes like this table showing 11 Gluten Free Flour Recipes. I've never made them all but it shows you what others bake with and gives you ideas so you can find what works for you.
Gluten Free Cooking Classes
If you're ready to take a deep dive into flour join me for my virtual cooking class Understanding How To Use Gluten Free Flour. If you subscribe to my email list and tell me you heard about it here, you can attend for free.
Substitutions for Sugar and Butter
Yes, you can easily make this recipe substituting the butter with oil or dairy free butter.
Substituting with other sweeteners does affect each recipe so make small changes and pay attention to the results. When I'm making muffins for myself I often decrease the sugar in many recipes by 2 tablespoons to start. I haven't tried many alternatives but the beauty of making the same recipes over and over is that you can experiment and learn when you know what they should look and taste like.
An Everyday Tip
When I make muffins to share with friends I want all the sugar and a little pizzazz. For an everyday version I sometimes find a bit of streusel in the freezer and just fold it into the batter. If I just don't want to make the streusel I through a handful of chopped nuts in the batter and call it done.
Equipment
Many people struggle with baking. Every oven is different and even standard baking pans vary a bit. Then there is the oven temperature and many more factors that challenge us everyday home cooks.
My advice is to buy quality bakeware since it will likely last you for more years than you can imagine. Then it's up to you to make notes about how long a particular recipe takes to bake in your pan and your oven.
Here are some options if you're shopping:
- Regular size muffin pan in 6 or 12 cups, my choice for everyday snacks
- Mini size muffin tin for a change from the ordinary
- Silicone muffin baking pan, 6 or 12 (prefect for Brazilian Cheese Buns)
- ceramic coated muffin tin
- A regular 10-inch Bundt pan if you're going to make it as a whole cake or the mini Bundtlette pans because they are so darn cute!
- Regular round silicone muffin liners or a set of different shaped muffin liners because some of us like to think outside the circle.
How To Store Gluten Free Muffins
Gluten free baking doesn't stay as fresh as baking with wheat flour. Be sure to put your baking in airtight containers once it's completely cooled. Muffins freeze well but you can also double wrap them if you feel they aren't as fresh as they could be.
I’d love to hear about it in the comments below if your muffins turned out or if you're still trying to perfect them.
Gluten Free Cranberry Orange Muffins
Ingredients
STREUSEL TOPPING
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon EGFG gluten free flour blend* (or brown rice flour or sweet rice flour)
- 2 tablespoon melted butter
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
- 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
DRY INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups EGFG gluten free flour blend*
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
WET INGREDIENTS
- 2 tablespoon melted butter
- ¾ cup orange juice
- ¼ cup water
- 1 egg
- 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line muffin tins with paper or silicone liners.
STREUSEL TOPPING
- Combine streusel ingredients together in a bowl and stir with a fork until evenly mixed. Set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Mix wet ingredients in a 2-cup measuring cup. Pour over dry ingredients and stir until combined.
- Fold in chopped cranberries.
- Using a scoop fill muffin tins about ¾ full.
- Top each muffin with a spoonful of streusel.
- Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes.
- Let cool for 2 minutes then transfer to a baking rack and cool completely.
Steshni Corea
so yummy