Tart, seasonal cranberries meet bright, sweet oranges to make a compact, portable, easy to make breakfast for little hands, or on the go!
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T’was the night before Christmas…
It’s the best isn’t it?! I take this picture the “night before Christmas” every year, and I seriously pinch myself with each passing year because it just gets better and better as the girls are at these amazing ages of understanding the wonder of this season. The kids always have a way of reminding me to be a kid again (ie chill out and just enjoy it all!)
Slowing down
Slowing downThe last couple years have given me this sense of needing to slow down and just enjoy it. I know that while the holidays will always be fun with my family, the type of “fun” will be in ever-changing ways as the girls get older, and I want to savor this little kid season we are in right now. While this foodie momma would just *love* to plan out an elaborate Christmas morning breakfast for everyone to help make and enjoy eating, breakfast is about the last thing on these little one’s minds on Christmas morning!
Fun and fast food prep!
Fun and fast food prep!A happy medium is the answer right?! Last year I created these super yummy blender batter cranberry breakfast cookies that became a huge hit on this blog even outside of the Christmas season. They made a fun, fast breakfast the kids could munch on while they enjoyed tearing into their gifts and playing with a new toy.
Last year they ended up working perfectly as a “first breakfast,” and then we had a nice brunch later in the morning when I had some time to cook. We fell in love with this concept, so I decided to create another fast holiday breakfast option to have fun with this year.
A faster, more portable baked oatmeal
A faster, more portable baked oatmealThis summer, a bushel full of peaches inspired me to fill my freezer with school morning friendly *portable* peach baked oatmeal cups. They have been so nice this fall on busy school mornings, and I thought maybe I’d do a spin on those with a more holiday season flavor profile!
Fresh cranberries versus dried…
Fresh cranberries versus dried…Sweet and tart cranberries and a subtle bright freshness from an orange…what’s not to love?! I have made at least 6 batches of these cranberry orange muffin baked oat cups, and I’ve got some tips to help you customize them to your family’s preferences!
- I’ve made batches of all fresh cranberries, and some with all dried cranberries, and both turn out well! It all really boils down to your flavor preferences. If you love the tartness of a fresh cranberry, there is enough sweetness in the muffin to balance it so you aren’t puckering! This was our favorite way to make them. If you prefer sweeter dried cranberries, go for it! It turns out great too!
- I made one batch with chopped fresh cranberries – it does back off the tart punch if you are afraid of that. We still really loved the whole fresh cranberries as our favorite.
- Don’t leave the orange zest out! It really helps with the hint of orange flavor. The juice isn’t quite enough!
A practical solution to enjoying a childhood full of fun Christmas mornings!
A practical solution to enjoying a childhood full of fun Christmas mornings!I really hope that what has become a family tradition of fun, faster prep Christmas morning breakfasts for our family will help you to enjoy this precious time with your kids at this age even more. I’d love to see what you end up making – if you post to Instagram, hashtag #raisinggenerationnourished and give me a tag so I can see! Wishing you and your family a merry Christmas!
Gluten Free Cranberry Orange Baked Oatmeal Cups
Ingredients
- 2 cups oats
Not quick oats. If you are gluten free, make sure your oats say gluten free like these. - 1 cup Namaste gluten free flour blend
- 1 cup coconut milk or raw milk if you tolerate dairy
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 2 eggs
- Zest from 1 medium orange
- ¼ cup juice from your zested orange (this has been about the juice of about 1 medium orange for me}
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup avocado oil or melted butter, coconut oil, or ghee
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp aluminum free baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 cup fresh cranberries or 1/2 to 3/4 cup dried cranberries
- Coconut sugar to sprinkle the tops optional, but the flavor is so good with these!
to sprinkle the topsInstructions
- Put the oats and gluten free flour blend in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in the coconut milk and lemon juice. The mixture will be thick. Cover with a towel and let the mixture soak overnight about 8 hours. This soaking process breaks down the phytic acid in the oats and flour, making it easier on digestion. It also allows the nutrients in the grains to be absorbed better.
- The next morning, pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Blend the eggs in a medium mixing bowl for 1 minute until frothy. Add the beaten eggs along with the rest of the ingredients to the oat/flour mixture that soaked overnight, and stir to combine (this takes a minute at first as the oat/flour/milk soaked mixture is a bit thick – do NOT add more liquid. It will loosen up as you incorporate the wet ingredients you added.)
- Scoop the batter into a muffin tin lined with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SS5M7DM/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00SS5M7DM&linkCode=as2&tag=simmomrev-20&linkId=4ea85b1dec383f1e88edfeca50f98d2a">silicone muffin cups</a><img src="//ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=simmomrev-20&l=am2&o=1&a=B00SS5M7DM" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /> (or, if you don’t have silicone muffin cups, you can butter your muffin tin to prevent sticking). Sprinkle the tops of each muffin with coconut sugar if you choose.
- Bake the baked oat cups at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes until the tops are golden brown (check them around the 30 minute mark in case our ovens run differently). Let the muffins cool 5 minutes in the pan before turning them out to a cooling rack for 10 minutes before eating.
- Recipe makes 12 large muffins. You could make them smaller and get 18 – if you have real little ones in the house, I’d make them smaller so they can eat a whole muffin. You will probably need more like 30 minutes to bake if you make them smaller.
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These sound so yummy! I love the cranberry orange combo – so festive and perfect this time of the year. Tiny Love and I would happily enjoy these.
Love the flavor combo! I have cranberries leftover from thanksgiving and now I know what to do with those!
These are so cute, and I love cranberry and orange together!
I love that these can be made with fresh or dried cranberries! Mostly because I can only get fresh cranberries for about a month each year, but I can get dried all the time! So, I don’t have to reserve this recipe for just winter!
Renee, one of my FAVORITE things about your blog is that it is truly traditional, with a mind toward digestion. This blesses me so. Thank you!!! Those soaked oats make me almost want to cry, my hear to sing– because YES! This is what we need to be doing, and it’s not hard! Thank you for this lovely recipe and that I can actually pin it to one of my traditional boards! 🙂 🙂
*heart, not hear 😉
beautiful to look at, and loaded with nutritious ingredients! These muffins look right up my alley!
Gorgeous and perfect for feeding a breakfast crowd during the holidays!
My kids are going to love these! They sounds so easy, and yummy!
This is the kind of thing I love to eat for breakfast. Thanks so much for this recipe!
My family is obsessed with orange. We will be giving these a try. Thank you!
Your kiddo is so cute, Renee. What a lucky girl she is. Happy holidays!!!
Thank you Carrie! Happy Holidays!
So super cute and perfect for getting breakfast organised in advance! Also, the photos for this recipe… my heart is exploding. How adorable. Have a wonderful Christmas Renee!
Thank you Monique!
I just adore seeing your kids enjoying your recipes! They are so lucky and your house looks so cozy this time of year. I bet it smells great too with treats like this baking. Looks scrumptious. Happy holidays to you and yours xx
Thank you Irena! Happy holidays to you!
I’m so going to make these for my kiddo to eat for breakfast. With him having to up so early for school, it’s a bit of work to get him to eat. I know he would tear these up.
Lucky kiddos! One hand holding a delicious oatmeal cup, the other hand unwrapping presents!
Ha! Yes!
These look delicious, and I’m always looking for creative healthy and easy to make breakfasts for the holidays!
These oatmeal cups look so moist and delicious. I can’t wait to try them !
Love the flavors here! Great for Xmas morning, my son would love these!
Oh wow, your making me so hungry! I love your adorable team of cuties helping in the kitchen 🙂
Thank you Stacey!
These are so cute. And I love the flavor combo. YUM!!
This seems like a silly question, but does this sit out on the counter or fridge overnight? Does it matter which? Thanks!
Also, just a thought… have you considered putting a “Jump to Recipe” button at the top of your pages? This can be so helpful for those of us that make your recipes regularly! 🙂 Thanks! I love your site!
These look delicious! A great way to take advantage of the abundance of fresh cranberries this time of year.
Oh, my goodness, yet another fabulous muffin recipe! Your blog makes me want to eat muffins every day!!
I have a couple of pounds of cranberries in the freezer so I now have a plan!
These look SO good. I love orange + cranberry together.. YUM!
These muffins look so delicious! I’d love a dozen please!
This is my first time ever commenting on a recipe – we LOVE these! I’ve made them several times now, with a simple 1:1 swap of Einkorn AP flour for the Namaste. Love love love. Texture and sweetness are perfect. Thank you!!
Hi Caitlin! I’m so glad you enjoy it! Great to know Einkorn works great too!
We love these muffins! Do you have a variation of these with a different fruit for spring/summer? I was thinking blueberries and lemon maybe?
Hi Adrienne! Yes for sure! We have used berries of all kinds and apples in the fall 🙂
These tasted yummy and my kids loved them. However, I got lots of stomach bloating and gas after eating. I used organic oats and I soaked them for much longer than 8 hours. I’ve never been bloated and gassy from eating oats before. Just wondering if soaking them can have an adverse effect maybe. What do you think?
Hi Katy! I’m not sure! Technically, the soaking is supposed to make the oat easier to digest! I’m so sorry you didn’t feel well!
Hi Renee! I was hoping to make this into a large pan of baked oatmeal (instead of the oatmeal muffin cups). Do you think the recipe as written would be large enough to fill a 9×13″ pan? Or would I need to double the recipe? Thanks in advance!
Hi Rachel! Yes I think a 9×13 pan would be fine!
Hi can I use regular all purpose flour to make these? Thank you
Hi Annie! I think that would work fine 🙂