Vegan Cranberry Orange Muffins (Oil-free)

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and line a muffin pan with 10 parchment paper muffin liners or Reynolds Staybrite foil liners (they never stick).

Step 2

Add the oat flour, potato starch, baking soda, cinnamon and salt to a large bowl and whisk really well. Add the orange juice, orange zest, applesauce and brown sugar to a separate bowl and whisk until well combined. Pour over the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth and no lumps remain. Stir in the cranberries. If you are using frozen cranberries, it is important to not remove the cranberries (if using) from the freezer until right before you need them, otherwise they will thaw and become watery and affect your results. Like I said above, I preferred these completely plain (no fruit).

Step 3

Pour into 10 liners for beautiful tall muffins or 12 liners for smaller muffins. Bake for 15-20 minutes until they are golden on top, risen well and lightly spring back when touched and a toothpick is clean. If making them plain, they are closer to 15 mins, if using wet fruit, they took 20 minutes to cook through. Make sure the toothpick is clean with no wet batter before removing. Let cool for about 15 minutes to finish cooking and firm up.

Step 4

While the muffins are baking, make the glaze (if using). Add the juice and sugar to a small pot, whisk and bring over medium-low heat. Once it starts fully bubbling, let it cook for about 3 minutes untouched. Let it completely cool. It will thicken up like a syrup after it cools completely. If you want it thicker, cook it a tad longer. The longer you cook it, the more intense the flavor and thicker/stickier it will become. Drizzle on muffins before eating.

Step 5

Once completely cooled, store in an airtight container to keep them moist. These are still wonderful and moist the next day!