Cranberries, pecans, and oranges combine really well in these delicious mini-muffins. Warning: may be addictive!
Prep Time15 minutesmins
Cook Time15 minutesmins
Total Time30 minutesmins
Course: Dessert or Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Servings: 28mini-muffins or 2 mini-loaves
Ingredients
6tablespoonschopped pecansIf it is easier to measure: six tablespoons is also 3/8 cup.
1/2cupcoconut sugar (or any other type of granulated sugar)
1orange - organic recommended
3tablespoonscanola oil or other neutral-tasting oil
1/4 to 1/3cupvegan yogurt or buttermilk or sour cream -- or my all-purpose dairy replacer (see the notes for the link) -- whatever you choose should be a bit tartSee the recipe for the exact amount
2teaspoonsfinely ground flax seedIf your ground flaxseed doesn't look like a powder, run it through the blender until it is powdery.
2tablespoonswater
1/2teaspoonbaking powderor alternatively use 1/6 teaspoon of baking soda plus 1/6 teaspoon cream of tartar (you can estimate 1/6 teaspoon by using a 1/2 teaspoon measuring spoon and filling it 1/3 full).
1/4teaspoonbaking soda
1cupfresh or frozen cranberries. Remove any squishy ones, then cut each berry in half or in piecesI cut them in half by hand for the first batch, then switched to using this easy cutter to chop them: https://amzn.to/3Ed1vml
1cupflour or gluten-free flourI used 1/4 cup each of potato starch, quinoa flour, garbanzo flour, and teff flour, plus 1/2 teaspoon of xanthan gum
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
While the oven preheats, toast the pecans in a metal baking pan in the oven for 6 to 8 minutes. Check often to see if they are done - they go from toasted to burnt in an eyeblink, and you want to catch it before that happens.
Measure your choice of sugar into a mixing bowl.
Wash the orange, then rub it on a fine grater to scrape off the orange color from all over the outside. The scraped-off part is the orange zest. Grate the zest into the bowl of sugar, then stir the zest and sugar together to break up any clumps.
Cut the orange in half. Juice one half and put the juice into a measuring cup. Peel the other half, and cut the flesh of that half into chickpea-sized pieces.
With the measuring cup of orange juice, add vegan yogurt or sour cream or buttermilk or other dairy-replacer until it reaches a total of 1/2 cup.
Put all of the ingredients in the mixing bowl and stir until everything is nicely combined.
Put the mixture into either a silicone mini-muffin tin or two non-stick mini-loaf pans. If you are making mini-muffins, fill each cavity about 3/4 full.
Bake mini-loaves for 28 minutes or mini-muffins for 15 minutes.
You can check for doneness with a thermometer -- look for 190 to 200 degrees F -- or poke in a toothpick, and if it comes out without batter stuck to it, then it is done.