These cranberry and white chocolate muffins put a festive twist on a classic recipe. Tart cranberries and sweet white chocolate create the perfect balance in this holiday-inspired muffin, while whole wheat flour adds a touch of wholesomeness. You can long-ferment the batter for extra flavour and easier digestion, or whip them up in just 30 minutes for a quick treat. Either way, these muffins make a delicious snack or festive dessert.
Why You Will Love these Cranberry and White Chocolate Muffins
Our family loves muffins – they’re so easy to make — they come together in minutes, freeze beautifully for quick snacks, and most importantly, they’re delicious! Check out these muffin recipes if you’re looking for more muffin inspiration!
These cranberry and white chocolate muffins are no exception. I love how the tartness of the cranberries is balanced by the sweetness of the chocolate. In my opinion, it is the perfect flavour combination for the holiday season (or any time of year you’re craving something a little bit special!).
While I try and avoid refined sugar as much as possible, the sweet white chocolate chips are well worth the addition in this recipe! I wouldn’t make these muffins every day, they really are a treat for our family.
These festive muffins would make a great edible gift for teachers, friends and neighbours. They would make a great addition to a Christmas basket, along with these almond cookies and gluten-free thumbprint cookies.
And if you want another seasonal muffin idea, I love these maple pecan muffins. They go really well with a cup of tea or coffee on a chilly afternoon!
Ingredients Needed to Make Cranberry and White Chocolate Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
- 200g whole wheat flour or wheat berries (see below)
- 100g sourdough discard or active starter
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 120 ml oil
- 150g maple syrup
- 1 tsp natural vanilla essence
- 2 eggs
- 100g dried cranberries
- 100g white chocolate chips
Whole Wheat Flour
I have really been enjoying milling my own flour recently. It is really not as difficult as it sounds! My counter-top grain mill does all of the hard work for me and it only adds an extra minute or two to the whole process. For me, it is well worth it because now my boys, who have been suffering from gluten allergy since birth, can eat wheat that is freshly milled! What a joy to see them enjoying the same muffins that the rest of the family are eating!
I like to use einkorn to make this recipe, but it works well with modern wheat too. I simply weigh out the wheat or einkorn berries before milling them and mill directly into the bowl. Easy!
You can also make this recipe with whole wheat shop-bought flour. I strongly recommend getting organic flour and sourcing it locally if you can.
Sourdough Discard
Alongside milling my own flour, I also like to ferment my muffin batter to help break down the gluten. To do this, I need a sourdough starter. For this recipe, you can either use an active starter or discard, whatever you have to hand.
Maple Syrup
I love to use maple syrup as a sweetener. It is a much healthier choice than processed white sugar and I think it adds a delicious depth of flavour to the muffins.
Eggs
I always buy the best quality eggs I can afford, organic if possible. The eggs I get here in France are quite large.
Dried cranberries
The only dried cranberries I can get here are sweetened, but if you are looking to reduce sugar content, you can use unsweetened.
White chocolate chips
Try and find the best quality chocolate chips that you can – they will improve the flavour of your muffins.
How to Make Cranberry and White Chocolate Muffins
If you are not going to long ferment the batter, preheat the oven to 180°C.
If milling your own flour, measure your wheat (or einkorn) berries and mill them directly into the bowl you will be using to mix your muffin batter. If you are not milling your flour, measure the flour directly into the bowl.
Add the other dry ingredients to the flour (baking powder, salt) and stir them together.
Next add all the other ingredients, including the cranberries and white chocolate chips, and mix well with a danish dough whisk or wooden spoon to combine. The batter will be quite loose, this is normal.
If you would like to long ferment your batter, cover the bowl and put it in the fridge for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. If you are not fermenting your batter, bake immediately as described below.
When ready to bake, ensure your oven is preheated to 180°C.
Place muffin liners in a muffin tin and spoon the batter into each muffin case. I like to use a large cookie scoop to do this.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. Check your muffins after 20 mins. Muffins that have been long fermented in the fridge may require a slightly longer cooking time. I like to check that my muffins are cooked by inserting a skewer into a muffin. If it comes out clean, the muffins are done.
Allow to cool on a wire rack. Enjoy warm or cold with a steaming cup of tea or coffee or as a festive dessert.
This post may contain affiliate links – as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!
How to Store Festive Cranberry and White Chocolate Muffins
These muffins will keep for 3-4 days at room temperature in an airtight container.
These cranberry and white chocolate muffins freeze beautifully, so you can always have a festive snack ready to go. Simply pop them in a zip lock bag in the freezer and you will have snacks ready to go whenever you need them. Simply defrost them on the kitchen counter for 1-2 hours when you are ready to eat them. If you are in a rush, you can defrost them in the oven at 150°C for 10-15 mins.
Why Use Fresh Milled Flour?
When flour is milled, it loses a significant number of nutrients. Commercial flour (even whole wheat flour) has the germ removed in order to make it shelf stable. This removes a huge amount of vitamins from the wheat, including vitamin E, which is a powerful anti-oxidant.
Many people, including some in my own family, who have issues when they eat wheat (gluten), find that they are able to digest and thrive on bread and baked goods made with freshly milled flour.
The flavour is also delicious – it has a malted hint to it which I really enjoy. It adds a lovely depth to these cranberry and white chocolate muffins, giving them a wholesome, nutty note.
If you would like to find out more, I recommend this video by Sue Becker from Bread Beckers.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Cranberry and White Chocolate Muffins
Ingredients
- 200 g whole wheat flour or wheat berries see below
- 100 g sourdough discard or active starter
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 120 ml oil
- 150 g maple syrup
- 1 tsp natural vanilla essence
- 2 eggs
- 100 g dried cranberries
- 100 g white chocolate chips
Instructions
- If you are not going to long ferment the batter, preheat the oven to 180°C.
- If milling your own flour, measure your wheat (or einkorn) berries and mill them directly into the bowl you will be using to mix your muffin batter. If you are not milling your flour, measure the flour directly into the bowl.
- Add the other dry ingredients to the flour (baking powder, salt) and stir them together.
- Next add all the other ingredients, including the cranberries and white chocolate chips, and mix well with a danish dough whisk or wooden spoon to combine. The batter will be quite loose, this is normal.
- If you would like to long ferment your batter, cover the bowl and put it in the fridge for at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. If you are not fermenting your batter, bake immediately as described below.
- When ready to bake, ensure your oven is preheated to 180°C.
- Place muffin liners in a muffin tin and spoon the batter into each muffin case. I like to use a large cookie scoop to do this.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes. Check your muffins after 20 mins. Muffins that have been long fermented in the fridge may require a slightly longer cooking time. I like to check that my muffins are cooked by inserting a skewer into a muffin. If it comes out clean, the muffins are done.
- Allow to cool on a wire rack. Enjoy warm or cold with a steaming cup of tea or coffee or as a festive dessert.
Leave a Reply