It seems that every winter for the past couple years I develop a new flavour obsession. Last year was tahini, as you may remember with these Tahini Chocolate Chunk Cookies. Well, this year is all about orange. I’ve been using a lot of orange in cakes the past couple months. Zest, along with the juice, brings the most beautiful, almost floral-like delicateness to baked goods. So, today I have for you this recipe for Orange & Cranberry Muffins with White Chocolate. Every bit of this is so reminiscent of the festive holiday season!
These Orange & Cranberry Muffins with White Chocolate are perfectly light and fluffy. They are not overly sweet, but get some of their sweetness from the melted white chocolate that seeps through the muffins while warm. The slightly tart cranberries turn jammy when baked. Lastly, the use of some spelt flour in these muffins adds a wholesome nuttiness. But don’t worry if you don’t have any on hand; while I haven’t tried this with just all-purpose flour, I’m sure it will work just fine.
I also decided to try my hand at candied oranges using this recipe. They are definitely not required, but they do add such a fun and sticky treat to the tops of these muffins (prep the night before to have them ready in time)! But no worries if you’re not up for this additional step! These Orange & Cranberry Muffins with White Chocolate on their own are so simple to whip up on a weekend morning (and honestly, why add that extra work on a Sunday, haha). Really. They are so perfect straight from the oven, or warmed in the microwave the following day, broken up and smeared with a pat of butter. Go on, get baking lovelies!
Orange & Cranberry Muffins with White Chocolate
Makes 12 muffins
Ingredients:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup spelt flour
- 2 TSP baking powder
- 1/2 TSP salt
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- Juice and zest of 1 large orange
- 1/2 TSP vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup white chocolate, chopped
- 2/3 cup dried cranberries, plus more for the top
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375°F and prepare a standard size muffin tray with 12 paper liners.
- In a medium bowl, sift and mix dry ingredients (both flours, baking powder, salt).
- In a large bowl, mix wet ingredients (milk, butter, sugar, eggs, orange juice and zest, vanilla) until the sugar dissolves. Add in the sifted flour mixture and gently fold, just until a few streaks of flour still remain.
- Add in the cranberries, and most of the white chocolate, but reserve about a handful of the chocolate for the tops of the muffins. Fold batter just until everything is combined, making sure not to over-mix as it will take away from the overall fluffiness.
- Divide batter evenly into the lined muffin tray. Sprinkle the white chocolate you reserved earlier, plus a few more cranberries on top of each muffin.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, until toothpick inserted comes out clean, and tops are golden brown.
- Enjoy warm! Can be stored in an airtight container for a few days.
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