Orange Cranberry Muffins (vegan)

A healthy and delicious oil-free quick bread featuring fragrant orange juice, fresh cranberries, and hemp hearts – perfect for your holiday breakfast or brunch.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas… everywhere you go… it’s Christmas once more.

This year, it seems like everyone around me is getting into the Christmas spirit very early in the season. It’s as if Christmas has the power to magically whisk all of the crazy of 2020 away (including the pandemic that shall not be named). I have family members that put up their Christmas trees the first week of November; and my local community put all of their street decorations up a couple weeks ago as well.

Please note that this is an observation, not a complaint. I love Christmas.

I mean, I love all things Christmas. Everything. I enjoy the music, the traditions, the festive decorations, the Christmas trees, the Christmas ornaments, the twinkling lights, the wrapped presents, and more. And this should go without saying – I especially love the food we get to make, eat, and share at Christmas. But even more than all of these wonderful things is the incredible Christmas spirit – an idea or notion that Christmas somehow brings us all together. People smile more, they wave more, they wish each other warm greetings, they hold doors open, etc.

In other words, Christmas magically invokes a neighborly kindness that 2020 is in great need of. This is the time of year where we can look beyond our walls, our families, and our friends. We can do good for our fellow men. We can volunteer and we can donate. I love the Light the World campaign. It’s empowering. Each of us can do little acts of kindness every single day. And it doesn’t cost anything at all. In fact, I think that the more kindness we share, the more love we feel. #lighttheworld

And this is precisely why I love Christmas.

Something as simple as these little Orange Cranberry Muffins can quickly become an act of kindness. I shared the first batch of these tasty treats with my next-door neighbors – even with the pandemic statistics rising all around us. This is the Spirit of Christmas – despite the crazy disrupted world we currently find ourselves in. And my reward? A beautiful smile and thank you. It made my day.

Needless to say, it really made me think about how much more I can do for others every single day, especially this year. And then I thought about the Light the World effort that encourages us to do little acts of love for our families, neighbors, and strangers this time of year. The best part, there’s no catch. You don’t have to be Christian. You don’t have to go to church. You just have to want to make the world a little brighter today. Just one little act that lights the world for someone – anyone of your choosing.

Speaking of light and love. These Orange Cranberry Muffins are full of light and made with love. Check them out! The orange juice makes them the color of sunshine and the bright cranberries are like having itty bitty little juicy hearts bursting with love! Okay, I’ll stop. I realize I may be going overboard here.

But seriously, these little Orange Cranberry Muffins really are light and absolutely delicious. I love that they are made with orange juice, hemp hearts, unrefined sugar, and whole grain flour. You can use freshly squeezed orange juice or bottled juice. And these darlings contain zero eggs, butter, oil, or dairy. And yet, somehow, they are full of flavor and have fantastic texture. But because of this, it’s important to fill the muffin cups a little above the rim. The results are fantastic!

I hope you enjoy these Orange Cranberry Muffins as much as I do.  And I hope I’ve made you smile a little today. Please tell me about your acts of love and kindness this holiday season. I’d love to hear how you spread your light!

I’m just starting out and would love to see your results. Please leave a comment and rate it down below, tag a picture @pebblesandtoast and #pebblesandtoast on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!   Enjoy!!   

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Ingredients

• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 tsp orange zest
• 1 Tbsp milled flax seeds (flax meal)
• ½ cup apple sauce
• ½ cup raw, coconut, or date sugar*
• 1 tsp vanilla or ½ tsp cake batter flavoring
• 1¾ cups white wheat flour or spelt flour**
• 3 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt (optional)
• 2 cups fresh or frozen whole cranberries
• ½ cup hemp hearts or chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1 Tbsp coconut, date, or raw sugar for topping muffins (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F.
2. Prepare a muffin pan by lining with muffin liners or greasing the inside with vegan butter or oil.***
3. In a small mixing bowl, combine the orange juice, orange zest, milled flax seed, apple sauce, sugar, and vanilla together. Set aside.

1. In a separate mixing bowl, combine the remaining ingredients.  Set aside.

1. Pour the wet ingredients in with the dry ingredients; and fold together until just combined.

1. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan (or loaf pan), filling above the liner’s  edge.
2. Sprinkle a little sugar on top, if desired.
3. Bake standard muffins for 22-25 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick poked in the center comes out clean. See notes below for other sizes.***

1. Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
2. Place the muffins on a cooling rack and allow the muffins to cool completely.  This allows for the best release.  Or if you are super hungry, try to wait at least 10 minutes, then carefully peel back the liner. 

Notes

* I like using coconut sugar; but you can also use date sugar or organic raw sugar.  I used raw sugar for these photos. The coconut sugar and date sugar will result in a slightly darker muffin.

** You may use a mixture of flours to achieve a lighter texture, including a 1 for 1 gluten-free baking mix.  Though you may need to bake this longer if using gluten-free flour.  I like using white whole wheat flour or spelt flour in baked goods.

*** Since these healthy plant-based cranberry orange muffins do not contain oil, you need to use a silicon or lined muffin pan or grease your muffin pan with vegan butter or oil.  I like using unbleached baking cups that work like parchment paper.  Allow the muffins to cool completely to allow the best release.  Or if you’re like my husband, wait at least 10 minutes, then carefully peel back the liner. 

– Since eggs, butter, oil, and dairy are not used, and depending on the type of flour and baking powder used, these muffins do not rise as much as traditional muffins.  For this reason, I recommending filling the batter level above the top of the pan or liner.  This will result in a more traditional bakery-style crown, but may require slightly more time in the oven.  Also, since muffin pans vary in size from one pan to the next, as does the amount of batter used in each, you’ll need to keep an eye on them and adjust until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean.  As a guide, fully filled mini muffins may take about 15 minutes, though I have not tested this.  Standard muffins take about 24 minutes and jumbo muffins may take as much as 30-35 minutes.  Allow the muffins to cool at least 10 minutes before serving.  The longer you wait, the easier the liner is to peel away from the muffins.  

– If using a bread loaf pan, bake for 55-65 minutes, or until toothpick come out clean.  Allow the loaf to cool completely before slicing.

Orange Cranberry Muffins (vegan)

Rachele (Pebbles and Toast)

A healthy and delicious oil-free quick bread featuring fragrant oranges and fresh cranberries – perfect for your holiday breakfast or brunch.

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Course Bread

Cuisine American, Vegan

Servings 12 muffins

Equipment

• oven

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup orange juice
• 2 tsp orange zest
• 1 Tbsp milled flax seed
• ½ cup apple sauce
• ½ cup raw or coconut or date sugar*
• 1 tsp vanilla (or ½ tsp cake batter flavoring)
• 1¾ cups white wheat flour or spelt flour**
• 3 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt optional
• 2 cups fresh or frozen whole cranberries
• ½ cup hemp hearts or chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1 Tbsp coconut, date, or raw sugar (for topping muffins) (optional)

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 375° F.
• Prepare a muffin pan by lining with paper liners or greasing the inside with coconut oil.***
• In a small mixing bowl, combine the orange juice, orange zest, flax meal, apple sauce, sugar, and vanilla together. Set aside.
• In a separate mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Set aside.
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients; and fold together until just combined.
• Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan (or loaf pan), filling above the liner’s edge.
• Sprinkle a little sugar on top, if desired.
• Bake standard muffins for 22-25 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick poked in the center comes out clean. See notes below for other sizes.***
• Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
• Place the muffins on a cooling rack and allow the muffins to cool completely. This allows for the best release. Or if you are super hungry, try to wait at least 10 minutes, then carefully peel back the liner.

Notes

* I like using coconut sugar; but you can also use date sugar or organic raw sugar. I used raw sugar for the photos. The coconut sugar will result in a slightly darker muffin.

** You may use a mixture of flours to achieve a lighter texture, including a 1 for 1 gluten-free baking mix. Though you may need to bake this longer if using gluten-free flour. I like using white whole wheat flour or spelt flour in baked goods.

*** Since these healthy plant-based cranberry orange muffins do not contain oil, you need to use a silicon or lined muffin pan or grease your muffin pan with coconut oil. I like using unbleached baking cups that act almost like parchment paper. Allow the muffins to cool completely to allow the best release. Or if you’re like my husband, wait at least 10 minutes, then carefully peel back the liner.

Keyword cranberry, egg-free, muffin, non-dairy, oil-free, orange, plant-based, vegan