Cranberry Muffins

Cranberry Muffins are the perfect bakery style muffin. Either way, I think your family will love them. Orange zest and cranberry go so good together and these muffins really helps to bring the combination together.

If you love cranberries, then check out these cranberry recipes for all your holiday dinners. I love making Cranberry Orange Bread to enjoy on Christmas morning.

Why We Love this Recipe

Here are some reasons why making these muffins are better:

• Simple Ingredients – We love this recipe because there are no fancy ingredients. Simple ingredients that you probably already have at home and simple process. No added ingredients that you can’t spell are needed to make these muffins taste great.
• Soft Texture – These muffins are so moist and simply put, taste amazing.
• Amazing Flavor – Making them at home allows you to monitor how much or how little you put in. I like putting a lot of cranberries in the muffins because they are just so good.

Ingredients

For the full recipe, scroll to the bottom to see the recipe card.

Variations

This muffing recipe is delicious with a variety of additions that can be added. These are some of our suggestions.

• Chocolate Chips
• Fresh Orange Zest
• Chopped Nuts – Walnuts, Pecans, or Slice Almonds

Step by Step Instructions

• Step 1 – Preheat oven to 375. Next, line muffin pan with paper liners.

Step 2 – Whisk together the dry ingredients – flour, brown sugar and baking powder in a large bowl. Set aside.

Step 3 – In another medium bowl beat together eggs, orange juice and oil. Occasionally, I will add in some vanilla extract.

Step 4 – Add wet ingredients into the flour mixture ingredients just until moistened. Combine the ingredients with a stand mixer or a hand held mixer.

Step 5 – Fold in tart cranberries. Spoon into prepared muffin tins. I like adding in a few extra cranberries for on top of the muffins before placing them in the oven.

Step 6 – Divide muffin batter into the muffin tin lined with muffins liners or spray the pan with cooking spray.

Step 7 – Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Expert Tips

• Muffin Pan – Now you can easily use muffin paper cups for your muffins if you want. But we started using these silicone baking muffin pans and we love them. You don’t have to use cupcake liners and the muffins just slide right out without sticking.
• Cooking Scoop – Also, instead of just spooning enough batter into each muffin cup, I love to use a large baking scoop. This is so quick and easy and delivers the perfect amount of batter every time. Once you use a scoop for spoon in your muffin batter you will never got back to the boring spoons.
• Glaze – I love adding a little glaze to these muffins. The drizzle of orange glaze, adds that additional orange flavor that I love. We have even added a crumb streusel topping for added flavor.
• Gluten-Free – Feel free to make this muffins with whole wheat flour or almond flour for a gluten free options.

Can You Use Dried Cranberries instead of Fresh?

Yes, you can use dried cranberries. I like to softened them a bit by I place them in some hot water. Then I pat them dry with a paper towel before placing them in the batter.

I typically use fresh around the holidays when they are on sale and dried during the other times of the year. Using dried cranberries you might notice that they dried cranberries are a bit chewy. Also are a little sweeter than fresh cranberries.

Can You Freeze?

Yes, this muffin recipe is a great option to prepare when meal planning. You would simply put the muffins in a freeze safe container or ziplock back and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

I like to label the container and date it so I know that it is and when I placed it in the freezer. Before placing in the freeze, make sure that your muffins are at room temperature.

How To Reheat

Once you are ready to have a muffin, pull out how many you want to eat and let them thaw out in the refrigerator overnight. If I have time, I might pop them in the oven for a few minutes to give it that fresh out of the oven taste.

How to Store

We love to meal plan for the week. Which often includes breakfast items for my family. You can make these muffins and store them in a airtight container for up to 3 days. Or you can put them in refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Then you can microwave them or put them in the oven for about 5 minutes to heat them up.