Gluten-Free Cranberry-Orange Pecan Muffins
By America's Test KitchenPublished on May 23, 2019
Time
1 hour, plus 30 minutes resting and 20 minutes cooling
Yield
Makes 12 Muffins
Ingredients
Before You Begin
If fresh cranberries aren’t available, substitute frozen: Microwave them in a bowl until they’re partially but not fully thawed, 30 to 45 seconds. Plain low-fat yogurt will work just fine in this recipe, although the muffins will be a bit drier. The xanthan gum can be omitted, but the muffins will be more crumbly, with slightly less structure, and they will be a little more difficult to get out of the pan. Do not shortchange the 30-minute rest for the batter; if you do, the muffins will be gritty.
Instructions
- Pulse cranberries in food processor until very coarsely chopped, 4 to 5 pulses. Transfer to bowl and set aside. Process granulated sugar, pecans, and orange zest in now-empty food processor to coarse sand, 10 to 15 seconds. Add flour blend, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum and pulse until well combined, 5 to 10 pulses.
- Whisk melted butter, yogurt, and eggs together in large bowl until well combined. Add to food processor and process until thoroughly combined and no lumps remain, about 30 seconds. Transfer to now-empty bowl and fold in chopped cranberries (batter will be thick and stiff). Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let batter rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 12-cup muffin tin with vegetable oil spray. Using ice cream scoop or large spoon, portion batter evenly into prepared muffin tin. Sprinkle turbinado sugar over top. Bake until muffins are golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 16 to 20 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
- Let muffins cool in muffin tin on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove muffins from tin and let cool for 10 minutes before serving. (Muffins are best eaten warm on day they are made, but they can be cooled, then immediately transferred to zipper-lock bag and stored at room temperature for up to 1 day. To serve, warm in 300-degree oven for 10 minutes. Muffins can also be wrapped individually in plastic wrap, transferred to zipper-lock bag, and frozen for up to 3 weeks. To serve, remove plastic and microwave muffin for 20 to 30 seconds, then warm in 350-degree oven for 10 minutes.)
Time
1 hour, plus 30 minutes resting and 20 minutes coolingYield
Makes 12 MuffinsIngredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
In our early tests of these muffins, the tartness of whole cranberries overwhelmed some bites (and was absent in others), so we pulsed the cranberries in the food processor to temper their punch and ensure that they were more evenly distributed. We started testing with 1 cup of pecans, but this amount made our muffins too dense and heavy. But cutting back to ½ cup wasn’t enough. We didn’t want to sacrifice any more pecan flavor, so we ground the pecans in the food processor. This gave us a nut flour that we could add to the flour blend. And since we already had the food processor out, we decided to see if we could streamline things and prepare the batter in it rather than combining ingredients by hand in mixing bowls. The results were great: The muffins were perfectly tender and light and had a nutty flavor throughout. Because the nuts made our batter a bit denser and added fat, we needed to increase the oven temperature from 375 to 400 degrees to ensure that the muffins rose and formed nicely domed tops. Finally, a touch of orange zest added sweetness and brightness that complemented the cranberries.
Before You Begin
If fresh cranberries aren’t available, substitute frozen: Microwave them in a bowl until they’re partially but not fully thawed, 30 to 45 seconds. Plain low-fat yogurt will work just fine in this recipe, although the muffins will be a bit drier. The xanthan gum can be omitted, but the muffins will be more crumbly, with slightly less structure, and they will be a little more difficult to get out of the pan. Do not shortchange the 30-minute rest for the batter; if you do, the muffins will be gritty.
Instructions
- Pulse cranberries in food processor until very coarsely chopped, 4 to 5 pulses. Transfer to bowl and set aside. Process granulated sugar, pecans, and orange zest in now-empty food processor to coarse sand, 10 to 15 seconds. Add flour blend, baking powder, salt, and xanthan gum and pulse until well combined, 5 to 10 pulses.
- Whisk melted butter, yogurt, and eggs together in large bowl until well combined. Add to food processor and process until thoroughly combined and no lumps remain, about 30 seconds. Transfer to now-empty bowl and fold in chopped cranberries (batter will be thick and stiff). Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let batter rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 12-cup muffin tin with vegetable oil spray. Using ice cream scoop or large spoon, portion batter evenly into prepared muffin tin. Sprinkle turbinado sugar over top. Bake until muffins are golden and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 16 to 20 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
- Let muffins cool in muffin tin on wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove muffins from tin and let cool for 10 minutes before serving. (Muffins are best eaten warm on day they are made, but they can be cooled, then immediately transferred to zipper-lock bag and stored at room temperature for up to 1 day. To serve, warm in 300-degree oven for 10 minutes. Muffins can also be wrapped individually in plastic wrap, transferred to zipper-lock bag, and frozen for up to 3 weeks. To serve, remove plastic and microwave muffin for 20 to 30 seconds, then warm in 350-degree oven for 10 minutes.)
Gift This Recipe
Enjoyed this dish? Let others know by sharing it as a gift recipe.
Appears In
Keep Exploring
0 Comments