Saffron and cranberry muffins

During Christmas time here in Sweden, it's very traditional to eat saffron buns. This gave me the idea of combining savoury seed buns with the 'holiday taste'. I also used cranberries instead of the raisins that Nordic buns normally contain. And voila! They turned out lovely and we shared them during one of our Yoga & Breakfast mornings.

Saffron and cranberry muffins Credit: Belén Vázquez Amaro

• makes

  8

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  55 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• ½ cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas), plus extra to sprinkle
• ½ cup sunflower seeds, plus extra to sprinkle
• ½ cup flax seeds, plus extra to sprinkle
• ½ cup dried cranberries (see Note)
• ½ cup unsalted raw nuts, such as almonds and hazelnuts
• 1½ cups rolled oats
• 3 tbsp psyllium husk
• 3 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tsp saffron powder (see Note)
• ½ tsp ground cloves
• a large pinch of sea salt
• 3-4 tbsp melted coconut oil
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 375 ml (1½ cups) water

Resting time 3 hours

Instructions

Place all the dry ingredients in a big bowl and mix with a spoon. Add the melted coconut oil, maple syrup and water, and, using your hands, combine well, ensuring all the ingredients stick together.

Grease a 12-hole muffin tin and divide the batter among 8-10 holes. Make sure the surface is kind of flat by pressing it slightly with your hand. You can also sprinkle the extra seeds over the top. Rest on your counter for at least 2-3 hours.

Preheat the oven to 175ºC. Bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes or until light golden, then remove from the oven. Turn the muffins out onto an oven rack and bake for a further 30 minutes or until hard on the bottom.

Cool slightly, then serve.

Note

• Try to find dried cranberries that contain just apple juice and not any other additional sugar.

• Saffron powder, or ground saffron, is available from online food stores.

Recipe from In The Making by Belén by Belén Vázquez Amaro, with photographs by Belén Vázquez Amaro.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.