Today I was in the mood for a sweet orange muffin. Not quite a cupcake, but almost – Paleo and grain-free. There were 2 oranges sitting on my counter, and some soaked, toasted almonds in the pantry. Well, the muffins came out wonderfully rich, moist and intoxicatingly orangey. (Don’t tell anyone, but I was singing a Hugo Wolf song about longing for the mysterious land where orange trees bloom…I’m sure he meant Italy.) Anyway, these are sensuously delectable with Orange Honey Butter. If you use one of the natural zero-carb sweeteners suggested (Just Like Sugar, PureLo, or Swerve), these are pretty much guilt-free, super low in carbs, with no calories or spike from sugar. Yay! Freeze leftovers (if there are any) in an airtight container for a treat when you really need it. Makes 24 mini muffins or 10 regular muffins. A food processor is helpful but not required.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups almond meal or flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon unprocessed salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 113 grams coconut butter (1/2 cup if soft) (if mixing by hand, soften it first; place the container in a bowl of warm water)
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- Zest of 1 orange
- Pulp of 1 orange, peeled, sliced, and seeded
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- About 1/2 cup sweetener to taste. (You can use 1/2 cup Just Like Sugar Table Top natural chicory root sweetener, or 1/2 cup Swerve sweetener, or 4 teaspoons PureLo Sweetener by Swanson, or 1/3 cup raw honey, or your favorite sweetener.
- 1/2 cup chopped nuts (soaked and toasted if possible. See All About Nuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease muffin tins with coconut oil, and flour with coconut flour.
- In a food processor or large mixing bowl, add almond meal, baking soda, salt, and cardamom. Mix well. Add coconut butter and mix to a thick paste.
- Add eggs, orange zest, orange pulp, lemon juice, vinegar, vanilla, and sweetener. Mix well. Add nuts and pulse them in briefly.
- Spoon into muffin tins. Bake mini muffins 14 – 18 minutes. Regular muffins 20 – 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 20 minutes on the tins. Slather with Orange Honey Butter!
