(Gluten Free | Dairy Free | Refined Sugar Free)
Happy Equinox!
What a wonderful season we are entering into. The days are getting longer, brighter, and warmer. The long-awaited sun finally brings enough heat to melt the snowbanks, and little patches of green and brown begin to peek out from beneath the sea of white that has covered the landscape for so many months. It is a time for celebration!
At the Beewell homestead, we love a good celebratory treat to help ring in the change of seasons, and baking up a batch of these light, bright, citrus-y sunshine muffins felt like just the perfect thing to celebrate the coming of spring. Adapted from an old recipe of my grandmother's, they feature the magic ingredient of a whole orange blended into the batter -- peel and all -- which might sound odd but delivers just the perfect amount of bright orange-y flavour. There are also many food-as-medicine benefits to consuming orange peel. Bonus!
These muffins are gluten (and grain) free, naturally sweetened (with honey, of course), dairy free, and light while also being quite hearty, which makes them a wonderful quick breakfast or afternoon pick-me-up with a cup of tea or a herbal latté. We like adding chopped dates and walnuts to them, but you could just as easily add pecans and raisins, cranberries and coconut, or any number of delightful combinations. You do you! In any case, I highly recommend you give these a try, and then get out there and enjoy the sun!
Citrus Sunshine Muffins
(GF, DF, RSF)
Ingredients
1 whole orange (preferably organic), sliced in half
2 eggs
1/4 cup coconut oil (melted)
1/2 cup honey
1 1/2 cups almond flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. pink salt
1/2 cup walnuts (roughly chopped)
1/3 cup dates (roughly chopped)
Directions
Preheat oven to 375 F.
To a blender, add the two orange halves (peel and all), eggs, coconut oil, and honey. Blend all together until smooth. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the blended wet ingredients and stir together just until combined. Stir in the chopped walnuts and dates.
Spoon the batter into 12 greased or lined wells of a muffin tin and top each with an extra sprinkle of chopped walnuts, if desired. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly before removing from the tin and transferring to a wire rack.
Enjoy!
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