Cranberry Sauce Muffins (Date Sweetened)

What's to Love

Are ready to start the holiday baking? If you are a slow starter like us, then these muffins are super easy way to start the transition and you can use up the leftover cranberry sauce. Win- Win!

Every bite of these easy date sweetened muffins is like taking a bite of the holidays. With the ginger, cinnamon, cranberries and dates, it tastes like our Gingerbread Boys and Girls Cookies, but a bit healthier. We are not quite ready to indulge in everything sweet. Instead we enjoy making things a little more nutritious using date paste instead of refined sugar like in our apple oatmeal date cookies.

What to Do with Leftover Cranberry Sauce?

Cranberry sauce has been a part of our Thanksgiving and holidays as long as we can remember.  Some of our favorite recipes using cranberry sauce are…

1. Drizzle sauce over cream cheese and goat cheese ball and serve with crackers for a fun appetizer.
2. Delicious on toast, scones or as a topping for ice cream or our Easy Microwave Chocolate Pudding.
3. Rocks over our Spiced Cranberry Glazed Ham.
4. Slather cranberry sauce over their turkey sandwiches the next day for lunches.
5. However, our favorite way to use up that extra cranberry sauce is to make Cranberry Sauce Muffins!

Homemade Low Sugar Cranberry Sauce

Please skip the stuff in the can! There is nothing odder than having a gelatin based wiggly food on the dinner table that still has the ridges in the can showing. (smiling). If you made these muffins with the stuff in the can, you could call it Jellied Cranberry Muffins.

Did you know it takes less than 10 minutes to whip up your own cranberry sauce? Really! The canned stuff is just a can of sugar, preservatives, cranberries and some other items we cannot pronounce.

Our homemade lower sugar honey sweetened cranberry sauce has a delightful blend of sweet and sour cranberries that makes it addictive. Making your own sauce is as simple as putting everything into a saucepan and letting it come up to boil and once the cranberries start to pop and let out their juices, it is ready. Just as simple as that!

Low Sugar Honey Sweetened Cranberry Sauce Ingredients

1. Fresh Cranberries – 12 oz
2. Juice of 1 fresh orange
3. Orange zest - 1 tablespoon
4. Cinnamon – 1 teaspoon
5. Honey ⅓ cup +2 tablespoons
6. Salt – ¼ teaspoon

Date Paste Compared to Regular Granulated Sugar

Did you know that dates have a lower glycemic spike compared to granulated sugar? According to a study by NIH, dates caused less of a postprandial elevation in sugar levels compared to regular granulated sugar consumption. In other words, the glucose level raises more slowly and does not spike as abruptly regular granulated sugar.

However, at the end of the day, sugar is sugar. Whether it is a natural and unrefined or refined. That is exactly why we used lower amount of date paste and just ⅓ cup chopped dates in our eggless marbled banana bread. It gives this healthy muffin recipe a lovely delicately sweet and slightly sour cranberries for one addictive bite.

How to Make Date Paste from Scratch?

You are going to want to make a batch of date paste as soon as possible because it is absolutely delicious in our Healthy Pumpkin Muffins, Easy Pumpkin Empanadas, Homemade Cream Earl Bubble Tea and of course in our cranberry holiday muffins.

In order to make homemade date paste, you will need 2 cups of pitted dates (medjool dates are our favorite), and about ½ cup of warm water and blitz it in a food processor until smooth. Make a batch today so you have it for all of your holiday baking.

Ingredients and Substitution Options

• All Purpose Flour - (we have not tested this recipe with a gluten free flour mix or blend)
• Date paste – To sweeten the muffins, you can exchange 1:1 with regular granulated sugar or brown sugar. If you want to use another sweetener alternative, you will have to determine the ratio exchange for ¾ cup of sugar. Each sugar alternative works a little differently.
• Almond milk – We wanted dairy free muffins as dairy is not our friend. However, you can use regular milk or other non-dairy milk brands of choice.
• Cranberry Sauce – Our Honey Sweetened cranberry sauce is a less sweet compared to the regular recipes or use up the leftover cranberry sauce on hand.
• Orange juice – We used fresh, but you can also use orange juice in a can.
• Orange Zest – Fresh citrus zest in the muffin batter and as a garnish is really nice. You can use mandarin oranges or even lemon zest if you do not have fresh oranges on hand.
• Mix Ins – Have fun with this! Add chocolate chips, nuts or raisins as desired. We garnished our muffins with a little bit of dried old fashion oatmeal for a fun topping. However, it is completely optional.

Baking Tips

• Use cupcake liners or grease pan with oil spray to prevent sticking.
• When, date paste is refrigerated it is very firm. You will need to scrape down the sides of your mixing bowl a few times to get the date paste off the bottom.
• If you have made homemade date paste from scratch and your paste is still a little chunky, that makes for one extra delicious muffin bite. Don’t sweat it.
• You can exchange date paste with granulated or brown sugar in a 1:1 ratio. We used ¾ date paste so exchange with ¾ cup brown or granulated sugar.
• Fill your cupcake tins up to the top. They will rise and make 12 large gorgeous muffins. No one like those little skimpy muffins with a flat top because you filled it only ¾ of the way full.
• Add ins are fun! Try mini chocolate chips, raisins, nuts, etc. We love the little extra nutty flavor of plain dried oats as a topping for ours. Totally optional, but delicious.
• Cranberry sauce muffins can be refrigerated for up to a week in a sealed container or can be stored frozen for up to 2 months.
• These little holiday muffins are fantastic for breakfasts on the go, car trips, school and work lunches or as a snack. You might also like our Cranberry Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies or sheet pan peanut butter and jelly pancakes for a quick breakfast idea.

Cranberries are the Year Around Super Food

Muffins made with cranberry sauce are chock full of full of delicious whole bursted cranberries. Cranberries are filled with antioxidants, vitamin C and have been proven positive for antimicrobial effects and gut health, according to a study by NIH.  This time of the year we need to be extra kind to our bodies and nourish them from the inside, as the outside stressors can really take a toll on our bodies.

Frequent Asked Questions (FAQ’s)