Deliciously Healthy Christmas Morning Muffins

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Our house is full of Christmas traditions. One of those traditions is making a big breakfast on Christmas Day. Try making these tasty Christmas morning muffins as part of your holiday traditions and see what you think.

I have a confession to make. I love Christmas and I love Christmas traditions. So every Christmas, I make a big Christmas breakfast. Well, not really breakfast, it’s more like brunch.

We tend to stay up late on Christmas Eve and sleep in on Christmas morning. And I refuse to set an alarm on Christmas morning to make breakfast. For breakfast, I typically make some homemade gluten free cinnamon rolls, eggs, along with grilled ham. Well, that’s the starting point.

The recipe for the gluten free cinnamon rolls and many others on my “Baked Treats” board on Pinterest. But the cinnamon roll recipe is pretty cumbersome.

Since I’ve been on a muffin kick lately, I thought that it would be great to make a Christmas muffin recipe. I’ve been working on this recipe for awhile now and it’s time for the grand reveal.

My daughter said that it’s her favorite of my gluten free muffin recipes thus far. Just so that you’re caught up, here are the recipes that she’s referring to:

Banana chocolate muffins

Apple streusel muffins 

Grain free carrot cake muffins

By the way, it was the apple streusel muffins that prompted her brother to say that we should start a bakery. I really should watch him. He may be plotting to steal my recipes and make millions off of them one day.

The good thing about these muffins is that you can make them ahead of time. That way, you can wake up on Christmas morning, have some muffins and herbal tea and leisurely open Christmas gifts. There’ll be time to make a grand meal later.

Just a note about these muffins, I made a couple of substitutions for different dietary situations and this is what I found out.

Using a gluten free flour blend versus the almond flour and tapioca flour, made for a denser and drier Christmas muffin. This also required me to use more nut milk (1/2 cup of almond milk versus the 1/4 cup noted below).

Nut Free Gluten Free Christmas Muffins

On another occasion, I substituted 1 cup of oat flour and 1/2 tapioca since I was making a batch for muffins for my children’s homeschool classmates and nut allergies were an issue. I also successfully swapped the almond milk for coconut milk  in this case.

Dairy Free Gluten Free Christmas Muffins

To make this Christmas muffin recipe dairy free, swap the butter for coconut oil.  So you can go either way on this based on your dietary preferences. 

The groom said that these muffins taste like something known as sweet bread. Sweet bread is a sweet pastry or bread that we grew up eating in St. Thomas, especially around the holidays. That says a lot about this muffin recipe.

To finish the muffins off, they’re topped with simple dairy free glaze. I used culinary coconut milk and confectioners sugar for just the right consistency.

Later, I added a splash of orange juice to amp up the flavor a bit. Spoiler alert, this works really well and helps to bring out the orange zest and flavors of cinnamon, ginger, dried fruit and cardamom in the Christmas muffins.

The muffins are jam-packed with fruit and jumping out with every bite.

So are you ready to try your new favorite Christmas tradition? Try my Christmas muffins and see what you think.

Tools to Use: 

Cooling and baking rack 

Bakeware Cupcake and Muffin Pan

Grease Proof Cupcake Liners (If using lineers)

Q & A: Gluten Free Christmas Muffins

How do I store these muffins?

Allow the muffins to cool completely before attempting to store. Then put the muffins in a resealable- covered container, that is lined with paper towel.

How long do muffins last when stored in a container?

That exact answer is going to depend on the humidity level of your home and the moisture of the muffins themselves. But, if stored as listed above, you can expect these muffins to last for 2-4 days.

Can I freeze these Christmas muffins?

Absolutely! Individually wrap the muffins in parchment paper (once cooled) and store them in a large freezer bag for up to 3 months.

Are muffins healthy?

Every muffin recipe is NOT healthy. But you can feel good about enjoying these muffins on Christmas morning as part of a sensible breakfast.

I have a nut allergy. What substitutions can I implement to make this healthy Christmas muffins nut-free?

You can use your favorite gluten-free flour and substitute for the almond and tapioca flour in this recipe. When doing this, I’ve found that using 1 cup of gluten flour does the trick. Do not use any tapioca flour when substituting out the almond flour. So it will be, 1 cup of gluten free flour and follow the rest of the recipe as listed.

This is the gluten free flour that I use when making this recipe nut free.

In terms of the nut milk in this recipe, you can substitute it with any other dairy free, nut-free milk. I’ve found that coconut milk works well.

If you liked this recipe, do me a favor and rate it. All you have to do is click the appropriate number of stars under the recipe. Recipes with more ratings do better on Google. Thank you so much!

Dec 2019. Updated Dec 2020

Updated Dec 5, 2022