Cranberry Lemon Muffins
My favorite taste tester is going on a diet. This is not good news.
This diet deal will require some serious re-inventing of the wheel over here. New standards will need to be implemented. No more --he ate two whole trays of that so it must be good-- type ratings.
My favorite taste tester is also my best friend and has been for 16 years. He does not like it when I call him my "partner," says it makes us sound like lesbians. I say it makes us sound like partners. Alas, he actually is my husband. And he is turning 41 tomorrow.
After all these years, I still love to just be with him. Still feel excited when he walks into the room. And of course feel irritated when he runs out of the kitchen leaving every single cupboard door open behind him. What can I say? Nothing. He has had to live with my "cleaning disorder" for years now, so why fret over a few open cabinets and such.
I'm going to make him these muffins tomorrow for a warm breakfast birthday treat.
2 cups blanched almond flour
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup dried cranberries
½ cup grapeseed oil
3 eggs
½ cup agave nectar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
- In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt, baking soda and cranberries
- In a smaller bowl stir together oil, eggs, agave and lemon zest
- Stir wet ingredients into dry
- Spoon batter in lined muffin tins
- Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes
- Cool and serve
Makes 12 muffins
These gluten-free, dairy-free muffins are on the sweeter side and make a nice festive dish for a brunch or a healthy dessert for a potluck. Because they are more liquidy than usual they will sink just a tad after you remove them from the oven.
Posted on February 5, 2008 in desserts by Elana
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or Many Hands Make Gingerbread
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26 comments
Your use of nut flour is mouthwatering. But, no offense...none what-so-ever...I'd offer to be your new taste tester but I think I'd have to go on a diet too! TWO cups of almond flour!! YI bet they're delish.
I love your use of almond flour here. Filling and high in protein. :D
These sound delicious! I'll also be turning 41 in a few weeks time, so since you gave us (your readers) this recipe, I'll consider it an early gift. ;-) Happy birthday to your "partner." Everyone should be so lucky to have one.
Mare - No offense taken whatsoever! Thanks for stopping by.
Sally - Thanks for the comment, yes that is what I think makes almond flour for everyone --it is so high in protein and extremely nutritious
Jason - Thanks for the sweet comment and happy birthday!!!
Elana, that looks like a good muffin. I don't have a problem with gluten, but the ingredients in this muffins are just so all-around wholesome! I might have to go buy some agave nectar.
Anna,
Thanks for stopping by. If you end up making this muffin, let me know how you like it and what you think of these alternative ingredients.
Elana
Elana...I am new to gluten free and am on a budget. What can I use instead of grapeseed oil? What can I add to increase the fiber/muffin? Thanks for your help.
Dear Josey,
I use grapeseed oil as it is the oil that best replicates the taste of butter and I am on a dairy-free plan. I suppose you could experiment with butter, though am not sure how that would work out. You could also try adding flax meal to the muffin to increase fiber, though again not sure how that would work. Of course, experimentation is welcome! That's what it's all about! Let me know how it goes and thanks so much for stopping by.
Elana
Thanks for this recipe! I just made my first batch and it was so easy! I used sweetened (cane sugar) dried cranberries because that was all I had, but they are still so yummi.
Thanks again. You just might have turned me into a "I bake all my breads and deserts myself" person :-)
I couldn't wait until they cooled down a bit... Burned my fingers but who cares when eating these! What a great muffin! I put in lime zest instead of lemon zest (a sunday with closed shops increases the need for experimentation) and used a mixture of dried blueberries and cranberries... They are lovely and a sure staple on an upcoming glutenfree afternoon tea! Thanks again Elana, hope you (and family) are very well... :-)
Dear Christianne-
You always leave the best comments; they make me smile. Thanks for sharing your creativity and experimentation with all of us.
Elana
Your recipes sound yummy -- looking forward to trying them!
About coconut flour: can I grind my own? From what?
Elizabeth,
Thanks, I hope you enjoy them.
I purchase my coconut flour; have never thought about making my own. If you do so, please let us know how it goes.
Thanks,
Elana
I made this recipe using fresh blueberries instead of cranberries and I used Splenda instead of agave nectar. The result was one big WOW. Not only are these the best muffins Iv ever had, but yaay for low carbs!
Thanks for sharing your recipes. Youve opened up a whole new world of great tasting wheat/gluten free food for me.
Jim,
I love the idea of making this with blueberries! Thanks for your comment.
Elana
Another great recipe Elana! I used orange rind instead, and fresh cranberries- their tartness blended beautifully with the sweet muffin. As usual I also cut back some of the almond and used brown rice flour instead. And I used olive oil in place of grape seed oil. I can never notice a difference in taste.
Julia,
Your substitutions sound delicious! Thanks for experimenting and for reporting your results to all of us.
Elana
What can you substitute if the recipe calls for eggs??
I don't eat eggs.
thank you for your time
Linda
linda,
Thanks for your comment. For the answer to this and other frequently asked questions, please see my faq.
Elana
How healthy! They sound really good with the almond flour, thank you for the recipe. :)
Thanks so much for sharing your recipe!
I did several substitutions, but the results were very good.
1 cup of hazel nut flour
1 cup of buckwheat flour
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon of xanthum gum
5/8 cup of brown rice syrup
1 cup of blueberries
Left the salt, baking soda, zest, and oil the same.
This reduced the cooking time by at least 5 minutes. I really enjoy buckwheat and blueberries, and I had to make do with what ingredients were around too. :)
Great recipe. I tried these tonight with a few changes and were the most amazing muffins I have tasted. I substituted lemon olive oil for the grapeseed oil, added a 1/2 cup of pecans, and used 1/2 cup cranberries and 1/2 cup blueberries. Thank you so much for this site. I am loving experimenting with these recipes.
[...] Cranberry Lemon Muffins -no sugar, gluten free [...]
Just amazing. I can't believe how good these are. I don't think I'd ever want to go back to wheat-flour muffins again. I didn't have a lemon or dried cranberries so I used orange peel and dried cherries (and a shake or two of cinnamon). So good. These are a new favorite. Thank you Elana.
WOW! These are delicious! I was recently diagnosed as gluten intolerant and thought I would have to end my love affair with muffins. Not so! My wife, who was very skeptical, asked how much butter I used. She couldn't believe there was no butter, sugar, or flour. We both are amazed at how good these are. I'm so glad I found your website. This is the first recipe of yours that I've tried, but certainly not the last. Thank you!
I love baking muffins and cupcakes-- and yours look so good-- but I cannot eat eggs, finding it hard to get some light recipes. Suggestion?
Hi Elana,
This is the first recipe I've made from your website. My muffins taste a little bit oily and they browned a bit too much on top and the sides. I'm wondering if the problem with the browning is the type of muffin pan I used. The flavor is great! I just wish they weren't so brown.
Thanks for any advice.