Festive Cranberry Muffins With A Ginger Kick

Festive Cranberry Muffins With A Ginger Kick

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These cranberry-ginger muffins are the perfect treat for the holidays. They’re gluten-free, dairy-free, and have zero processed sugar, making them totally cleanse-friendly as well! You’ll love the subtle sweetness, spicy ginger, and tart cranberries combined into one perfect breakfast or dessert.

Cranberry Muffins For Antioxidant Wealth

You can use fresh or frozen cranberries in this recipe. If using frozen, we recommend thawing before using in order to remove any excess juice that releases during the thawing process. Cranberries give this recipe a nice tartness to balance out the sweet coconut palm sugar. Cranberries are well known for their ability to help with urinary health, specifically, the antioxidant proanthocyanidins which helps prevent bacteria from adhering to the urinary tract walls. Research has also shown that the high levels of polyphenols in cranberries help promote heart health by combating oxidative damage to the body.

A Little Spice Makes It So Nice

The fresh ginger in this recipe adds a beautiful flavor twist to traditional cranberry muffins. Ginger is known for its ability to improve digestion, and specifically help with nausea and bloating. It has been shown to be especially helpful with pregnancy-related nausea more commonly known as morning sickness. We love using ginger in sweet treats because it has been shown to help stabilize blood sugar. We’ve already eliminated processed sugar in this recipe, but the ginger helps double down on keeping blood sugar steady so you won’t get that sugar crash later on.

Anti-inflammatory Fatty Acids

Adding raw nuts to baked-goods is a great idea for a healthy dose of fat that will help satiate you and boost health. Walnuts are comprised of a healthy combination of monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats. They are an excellent source of omega-3s. Getting enough omega-3s is important, as these are anti-inflammatory fatty acids. Walnuts (especially raw) are also rich in iron, selenium, vitamin E, and B vitamins.

We’ve made this recipe vegan and cleanse-friendly (just use coconut oil instead of ghee) by using flax-eggs instead of regular eggs. The purpose of eggs in baked goods is to serve as a binder (so they don’t just fall apart after baking). When combined with warm water, ground flax forms a gel-like consistency, which mimics the action of eggs in baked goods. We also love that flax adds a healthy dose of anti-inflammatory fat and fiber.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon ground flaxseed
1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
1.5 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1/3 cup ghee or coconut oil
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 cup canned full-fat coconut milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups gluten-free baking flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1 cup fresh cranberries
1 cup roughly raw walnuts

Directions:

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep ingredients and make flax eggs. Combine ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of hot water. Stir to thoroughly combine, then cover and set aside. Stir the mixture every 5 minutes. It will take about 20 minutes to form a gel-like consistency.

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Step 2: Thoroughly combine baking powder, baking soda, both flours, and salt.

Step 3: In a separate, large bowl cream together ghee (or coconut oil), coconut palm sugar, almond milk, coconut milk, ginger, vanilla, and flaxseed mixture.

Step 4: Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Once thoroughly mixed, gently fold in cranberries and walnuts.

Step 5: Line a muffin pan with muffin cups and fill each cup about 2/3 full with batter.

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Step 6: Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into muffins.

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Let cranberry muffins cool slightly, then serve!

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Recipe and photography by Kaitlyn Noble

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