Paleo Cardamom Streusel Orange Muffins

Oh man, what a week! I do have to apologize for such a late entry. There were some personal issues that came up that required me to shift my schedule around. But all is well now and we are back on track! What a rough week for many of us. The loss of the great David Bowie and Alan Rickman really shocked us. I want to take a moment and pay tribute to both amazing performers and say thank you for the many years of joy and entertainment you guys had provided us. Devin is devastated by the loss of the Goblin King and I’m just heartbroken to lose the amazing Professor Snape. In a time like this, I really need something to cheer me up. Something sweet, but not overly heavy…how about these Paleo Cardamom Streusel Orange Muffins?

As you guys all know, I love cooking with the seasons. One of the reasons is because fresh ingredients really makes a difference. With the current advancement in agriculture, many produce have become available year round. Citrus fruits are harvested late December, early January. I walked into a local natural grocer and noticed all the different varieties of oranges. I mean, there were pallets of them. I was excited because I can finally use something to stay in season.  Paleo Cardamom Streusel Orange Muffins are fantastic. They are very easy to make.

Paleo Cardamom Streusel Orange Muffins

Muffins:

¾ Cup – Otto’s Natural Cassava Flour

½ Cup – Cashew Meal or Blanched Almond Meal

¼ Cup – Tapioca Starch

3 Tsp – Paleo Baking Powder (Recipe Here)

1 Tsp – Ground Vietnamese Cinnamon

Large Pinch of Salt

Zest – 2 oranges

1 – Ripe Banana (Mashed)

½ Cup – Palm Syrup

¼ Cup – Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice

1 Tsp – Pure Vanilla Extract

¼ Cup – Grassfed Butter/Ghee (Room Temp)

4 – Vital Farms Free Range Eggs

Streusel:

½ Cup – Cassava Flour (May have to add a tbsp extra)

¼ Cup – Coconut Sugar

¼ Cup – Grassfed Butter/Ghee (Melted)

1 Tsp – Grounded Cardamom

Let’s talk briefly about the ingredients for these Paleo Cardamom Streusel Orange Muffins. Two main ingredients are oranges and cardamom. First off, I would try to pick the sweetest oranges. From what I learn speaking with different fruit stands, the best way to pick a sweet orange is by the size of its navel. The bigger the navel, the sweeter the orange. If you want an even more intense orange flavor, you can add a tsp or orange extract.

Second for the Paleo Cardamom Streusel Orange Muffins is cardamom. I find my cardamom at a local Indian grocer. Spices keep better when they are whole and unground. Unless you plan to use it very often, I suggest getting whole green cardamom pods and grinding them yourself as needed. Grinding is easy.You break open the pods and grind just the seeds inside. You can use either a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder. If you want the convenience, go ahead and get the ground cardamom, I won’t tell on you.

Next ingredient for the Paleo Cardamom Streusel Orange Muffins I want to talk about is the nut flour. Most nuts can be ground into flour. Simply freeze them for a few hours and grind them in a coffee grinder. I find that a coffee grinder produces the finest grind. Freezing it prevents the nut oil from extracting during the grind. When tree nut oil is extracted, it will it into a nut butter. I suggest using either cashews, macadamia  or blanched almonds. I love using cashews. Flour made from softer nuts tend to produce a softer texture. I am not a fan of making certain tree nuts into flours, because they are so strong in flavor. To name a few: Brazilian nuts, walnuts and pecans can easily take over a dish if you don’t use them proportionately.

The palm syrup is actually very easy to make. In a sauce pan, melt a cup of palm sugar blocks with a few tbsp of water. This should produce about a half a cup of palm syrup.

Let’s make these Paleo Cardamom Streusel Orange Muffins. First, preheat your oven to 350º F. If you have a food processor or mixer, the prep is a breeze. Simply toss everything on the muffin ingredient list into the food processor and blend until they are all smoothly incorporated. If you don’t have a mixer, simply separate the wet and dry ingredients and mix them together. If you have questions about it, feel free to comment below. Next, line muffin tin with paper cups and fill them almost to the top. Leave about a quarter inch of space. Next, in a bowl, mix together all the streusel ingredients with a fork. Top the muffins with the streusel and slightly press down to ensure the streusel doesn’t fall off while baking. Bake the Paleo Cardamom Streusel Orange Muffins for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center. It is that simple! Now, enjoy these Paleo Cardamom Streusel Orange Muffins. Until next time, eat up my friends!

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