These soft, fluffy Homemade Cranberry Orange Muffins are as delicious as they are festive for the holiday season! The bright citrus flavor from fresh orange juice pairs beautifully with the sweet cranberries, and everything bakes up quickly in the oven.
These muffins have tall bakery-style domes and are packed with berries in every bite. Make a batch for a quick on the go breakfast or an easy afternoon snack for the kiddos. The sprinkle of coarse sugar on top takes them to the next level!
The Coined Breakdown
- Total Cost per muffin: $0.54
- Total Cost (about 13 muffins): $7.02
- Those Other Guys: $4 per muffin
Ingredients
- Dry Ingredients - The classic base for most muffins... all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and a pinch of cinnamon.
- Buttermilk - You can buy from the store, or make your own with a little apple cider vinegar or lemon juice stirred into milk!
- Melted Butter - For flavor and a better, more moist texture, melt some salted butter and let it cool slightly.
- Vanilla Extract - Just a couple teaspoons to really shine in these muffins.
- Eggs - Take your eggs out a few minutes before baking so they come to room temperature. This helps the eggs incorporate well into the batter.
- Orange - Fresh orange pairs so well with cranberries! We use the zest and juice in this recipe.
- Cranberries - During the holidays, you can easily find fresh cranberries. But I also include recipe instructions below on using frozen cranberries to prevent a ton of color bleed.
- Coarse Sugar - This is optional; but a little turbinado sugar sprinkled on top of the raw cupcake batter before cooking adds texture and sweetness.
Variations and Substitutions
Cranberry Eggnog Loaf: Have extra cranberries lying around? My Cranberry Eggnog Loaf is perfect for Christmas morning - made with homemade eggnog and tons of berries.
Cranberry Orange Jam: These holiday flavors are packed into a homemade jam that can go inside hand pies, on crispy toast, or spread on top of these muffins.
Making Bakery-Style Cranberry Orange Muffins at Home
Step 1: Prep your ingredients by sifting the dry ingredients together in a large bowl, and whisking your wet ingredients in a smaller bowl.
If using fresh berries, toss them in the dry bowl. If using frozen cranberries, keep them frozen until right before you finish the batter.
Step 2: Begin gently folding the dry bowl into the wet.
There will be little pockets of flour once you're finished combining. That's good - that's how you know you didn't over mix!
Step 3: The batter will be really thick. Ensure that your berries are evenly distributed throughout the bowl.
Step 4: Add the batter to a liner in every other muffin tin and sprinkle coarse sugar on top.
Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then turn the oven heat down to 350°F and continue to bake for 18-20 minutes.
Recipe Pro Tips
- No buttermilk in the fridge? Make homemade buttermilk! Take 1 cup of milk and stir 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice into the milk. Let it sit for at least 10 minutes until you see the ingredients react.
- Keep your batter nice and bright. Don't you hate when fruit color bleeds into your batter? To avoid this, I have a couple tips. If you're using fresh cranberries, toss them the dry ingredient bowl before combining. If you grabbed frozen cranberries, keep them frozen until right before you fold into the wet batter.
- Don't over mix the batter. I can't mention it enough - we don't want a smooth batter that's been stirred or whipped to death! Over mixing prevents the muffins from rising, and also gives them a tough consistency at the end. Your batter should still have small pockets of flour in it right before adding to the liners; that's ok.
- Give everybody some space. Fill every other cup in your muffin tin with a liner and batter. When the muffins have room to breathe, they grow taller and don't run into the other muffins.
- Use two different baking times. We bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425°F, which is a super high heat that helps create those tall, domed tops. Then, we turn the temperature down to 350°F so that the insides of the muffins can bake evenly.
Recipe FAQs
Of course! Fresh or frozen berries work well in this recipe.
For fresh cranberries: Toss them in the dry bowl that includes flour before gently folding them into your batter.
For frozen cranberries: Keep the berries frozen until you're ready to mix into the wet batter. Work quickly!
This normally happens with frozen berries, because they release their juices much sooner than fresh. If you follow the frozen berry technique mentioned above, you shouldn't have any large issues. A little color bleed is okay.
Any type of milk works. I've tested this with dairy milk as well as non-dairy variations like almond or oat.
If you stick a toothpick into the center, it should have a small amount of crumbs sticking to it. Then you know they are ready to take out of the oven.
Yes! These muffins freeze very well. Simple add to a freezer-safe container or freezer bag and remove as much air as you can. Freeze for up to 3 months.
When you're ready to eat, let the muffins thaw either in the refrigerator or on the counter.
Other Easy Breakfast Ideas You'll Crave!
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Cranberry Orange Muffins
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Wooden Spoon
- Citrus Squeezer
- Microplane
- Strainer optional - if you use frozen berries
- 2 Muffin Tins
- Cupcake Liners
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (420g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (215g)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen)
- ½ cup salted butter (melted and cooled)
- 2 count eggs (room temperature)
- 1 cup buttermilk (240 mL, room temperature)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 count orange (zest and 45 mL of juice)
- turbinado sugar (optional, for sprinkling on top)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425°F. Add cupcake liners to every other cup in two muffin pans
- In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- If using fresh cranberries, toss them in the dry bowl.If using frozen, wait until Step 5. You want them to stay frozen instead of thawing on the counter.2 cups cranberries
- In another bowl, whisk together the melted butter, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla extract, and the orange zest + juice.½ cup salted butter, 2 count eggs, 1 cup buttermilk, 1 count orange, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- If using frozen cranberries, fold them into the wet batter.2 cups cranberries
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry bowl and gently fold using a wooden spoon. Do not over mix! The batter will be thick and you should still see little pockets of flour.
- Fill the cupcake liners to the top, being sure to only fill every other muffin cup in the cupcake tin. Sprinkle the batter with optional turbinado sugar.turbinado sugar
- Bake at 425℉ for 5 minutes, then turn the oven temperature down to 350℉ and bake for 18-20 minutes. A toothpick stuck in the middle should have a bit of crumb on it.
- Remove the muffins from the muffin tin, and let them cool on a wire rack. Enjoy!
Did you make this recipe? Let me know what you think!