This recipe for Good Morning Cranberry-Coconut and Carrot Gluten-Free Muffins is bar none, one of the best gluten-free muffins, if not the best gluten free breakfast pastry I have ever tasted. It is the closest thing to a Morning Glory Muffin that I can think of. In my career as a pastry chef, I have made a ton of muffins for breakfast service and various morning events. I mean A LOT of muffins! I challenged myself to make a gluten-free muffin that no-one could differentiate from a gluten muffin. I believe I have done that with this gem of a recipe. The feedback that I receive from anyone who has tasted this muffin verifies my findings. Try it! Let me know what you think – I would love your feedback.
Good Morning Cranberry-Coconut and Carrot Gluten-Free Muffins
Good Morning Cranberry-Coconut and Carrot Gluten Free Muffins – Gluten Free
CHEF TALK: This muffin is moist and flavourful and chock full of goodness: unsweetened applesauce, cranberries, toasted coconut, shredded carrot, and so much more. For a dairy free muffin, use a non-dairy beverage. I used Bob’s Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour for this particular recipe.
INGREDIENTS |
|
| Equipment: Large muffin cups or mini loaf cups | YIELD: 8 large muffins or 12 medium sized muffins |
| MUFFIN BATTER | |
| Gluten Free Flour, all-purpose blend | 1 1/2 cups |
| Raw cane sugar, coconut sugar, maple sugar or Brown Sugar | 1/2 cup |
| Gluten-Free Baking Powder | 2 1/2 teaspoons |
| Baking Soda | 1/2 teaspoon |
| Salt | 1/2 teaspoon |
| Xanthan Gum | 1/2 teaspoon |
| Coconut Oil or Vegetable Oil | 1/4 cup |
| Egg, large | 1 |
| Applesauce, unsweetened | 1/2 cup |
| Milk or Almond Milk, or any dairy-free beverage | 1/2 cup |
| Vanilla Paste or Vanilla extract | 1 Tablespoon |
| Carrot, shredded | 1/2 cup |
| Coconut, unsweetened (plus more for garnish) | 1/4 cup |
| Lemon zest | 2 teaspoons |
| Dried Cranberries | 3/4 cup |
METHOD:
- Preheat oven to 350oF (325oF for Convection oven).
- Prepare muffin pans by spraying with pan spray or use paper liners. (CHEF TIP: For ease of peeling the paper from the sides of the muffin, spray the paper liners lightly with pan spray)
- Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt. Make a well in the centre.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, egg, applesauce, milk, vanilla, and lemon zest.
- Pour the applesauce mixture into the well and stir until dry ingredients are just moistened.
- Stir in the carrots and cranberries.
- Spoon batter into each muffin cup. Garnish each muffin with a sprinkling of coconut.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until the muffins are springy to touch. Check with a toothpick in the centre of the muffin. Place on a rack to cool. Enjoy!
NOTES:
- The muffins store well and freeze very well.
Please CLICK the link above to access my UrbnSpice LEARNING TIPS, which are listed alphabetically on the Learning Tips blog post under the following subheadings:
- Gluten-Free Flour Blends
- Oven Temperature Accuracy
- Vanilla Extract
__________
YOU MIGHT ALSO BE INTERESTING IN:
As always, if you give this recipe for Good Morning Cranberry-Coconut & Carrot Muffins – Gluten Free a try, please come back and leave me a comment below with your feedback.
You can find me on social media (see links below) – just be sure to tag @urbnspice and #urbnspice so I am sure to see it. Enjoy!
Denise Paré-Watson
The Urbnspice Chef
Follow me on Social Media:
Urbnspice Facebook Page – If you like what you see here, please LIKE my page. I would love that – thank you!
Urbnspice is on Twitter
You will find lots of fun boards on Pinterest
I am also on Instagram
What brand or gluten free flour blend do you recommend and is there a suitable substitute that can be used to make my own recipes gluten free with a straight exchange of flours.
Linda
Hi, Linda:
I would recommend Bob’s Red Mill (http://www.bobsredmill.com/) all purpose blend. I find with many of the gluten free flour blends, too much starch in the gluten free flour blend will result in a dry baked good.
When making your own recipes gluten free (and this is tricky!), often more gluten free flour blend is required (there is a scientific ratio that requires a scale: ie. for every cup of regular flour 110g substitute 140g gluten free flour blend). I use my own gluten free flour blend which was created for my books (Gluten Free Chocolate Desserts). The other tip is to stir any gluten free flour blend well before you use it because the gluten free flours and starches are very fine and settle into the bottom. Spoon the flour blend lightly into the measuring cup rather than scoop it. I hope you will give this recipe a try – it is the same recipe used by my colleagues in their restaurants and cafes.