Cranberry-orange muffins sound healthy but can veer into cupcake territory when you add a streusel topping or sugary glaze. To enliven our muffin in a healthier fashion, we started with plenty of fresh, antioxidant-rich cranberries, then folded in protein- and mineral-rich pumpkin seeds, or pepitas. Their richness tamed the bright, acidic fruit. To further temper the sour punch of the berries, we chopped them coarsely. This distributed them more evenly throughout the batter, and enabled us to reduce the amount of sugar. We then replaced over half of our all-purpose flour with oat flour as much as we could without compromising the muffin’s structure and replaced butter with canola oil. At this point, our muffin tasted lean and “too healthy.” Low-fat yogurt provided the dairy richness we were lacking. For a final touch, we sprinkled the muffins with extra pumpkin seeds, which developed a rich, nutty flavor as the muffins baked nobody missed the streusel. We prefer using store-bought oat flour, as it has a very fine grind and creates the best muffins, but you can make your own in a pinch. Grind 2¼ cups (6¾ ounces) old fashioned rolled oats in a food processor to a fine meal, about 2 minutes; note muffins will be more squat and somewhat dense if using ground oats. Do not use toasted oat flour in this recipe. You can use thawed, frozen cranberries in place of the fresh
Ingredients
- 2¼ cups (6¾ ounces) oat flour
- 10.33 cups (6⅔ ounces) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1¼ cups organic plain low-fat yogurtc
- ¾ cup (5¼ ounces) sugar
- ½ cup expeller-pressed canola oil
- 2 large organic eggs
- 1 teaspoon grated orange zest
- 6 ounces (1½ cups) fresh cranberries, chopped coarse
- 1 cup pepitas, toasted and chopped
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Spray 12-cup muffin tin, including top, generously with canola oil spray.
- Whisk oat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in large bowl.
- In separate bowl, whisk yogurt, sugar, oil, eggs, and zest together until combined. Using rubber spatula, stir yogurt mixture into flour mixture until just combined (do not overmix). Gently fold in cranberries and ¾ cup pepitas until incorporated.
- Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups (cups will be filled and mounded above rim) and sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup pepitas. Bake until golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 22 to 26 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
- Let muffins cool in tin on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove muffins from tin and let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
| Nutrition Facts |
Serving Size 1 |
Nutritional Value Per Serving | Calories 340 kcal Calories from Fat: 153 kcal |
|
% Daily Value*
|
| Total Fat 17 g 49% |
Saturated Fat 2.5 g 13% |
Trans Fat g |
Cholesterol 35 mg 12% |
Sodium 250 mg 4% |
carbohydrates 39 g 30% |
Dietary Fiber 3 g 8% |
Sugars 12 g 13% |
Protein 10 g 20% |
* Above mentioned %DVs (Percent Daily Values) are based on 2,000 calorie food intake.
DVs (Daily values) may be vary depending upon individuals daily calorie needs. Above nutritional values are estimates and should only be used as a guide for approximation. They are not allfoodchef.com recommendations. Calculations are based on average weight of 194 lbs. and ages of 19 to 50 years. |