orange blackberry muffins
Everybody needs a good muffin recipe in their life… and one that’s healthy is just a bonus. There’s nothing like baking up a fresh batch of muffins and eating them fresh out of the oven. Whether it be banana bread, chocolate chip, blueberry or lemon poppy seed, I don’t think I’ve ever met a muffin that I didn’t like. But who has, right??
I’ve never been the biggest blackberry fan—not that I disliked them or anything, but strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries have always been my staples—but I was at my parents’ house the other day and they had some blackberries sitting out and I started eating them and got a little inspired.
I thought it would be nice to bake up some fresh blackberry muffins, instead of blueberry for a change. They’re so tart, but still slightly sweet and refreshing, that I thought they’d go so well with the citrusy tartness from some orange zest and juice. These deliciously fresh and vibrant muffins are vegan, gluten-free and refined sugar free so you won’t even feel guilty about devouring them up! They’re delicious enough for dessert and healthy enough for breakfast. And did I mention how easy they are to make?? Seriously, #winning!
| Servings | Prep Time | Cook Time | Total Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | 10 mins. | 15 mins. | 25 mins. |
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds + 1 tablespoon water
- 1/2 cup coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons agave
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons orange zest
- 1/8 cup orange juice
- 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup quinoa
- 2 cloves
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1/2 cup blackberries
- Turbinado sugar for sprinkling, optional
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a muffin tin with papers or grease with either coconut oil, vegetable oil or cooking spray.
- Combine chia seeds and water in a small bowl. Stir together and set aside. Let rest for about 10 minutes.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine coconut oil, agave, maple syrup, vanilla extract, orange zest, orange juice and chia mixture. Whisk together until everything is combined.
- Place oats, quinoa and cloves in a blender and blend on high until ground into a powder. Add cinnamon and baking powder and pulse a few times until incorporated.
- In a few batches, stir the dry mixture and almond milk into the wet ingredients (starting with the dry mixture and alternating between the two).
- Fold in the blackberries.
- Spoon batter into muffin tin and sprinkle a small spoonful of turbinado sugar onto each one.
- Bake for approximately 15 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and let rest, in the pan, for 10-15 minutes, until cool enough to handle. Then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Enjoy!
Toddler Tip:
Let your toddler whisk together the wet ingredients, fold in the blueberries and sprinkle sugar on top of the muffins!
