Cranberry Orange Muffins
Updated September 11, 2019
Cranberry Orange Muffins-these sweet and tender muffins are bursting with fresh cranberries. They are the perfect muffins for the holiday season.
I have been baking cookies all month long and the boys have been great little taste testers. I got the butter out the other day and Caleb said, “Are you baking MORE cookies?” He caught me red handed:) I was going to bake another batch of cookies, but Caleb asked if we could make muffins instead. He loves muffins! I loved the idea so we switched things up and made Cranberry Orange Muffins.
I love fresh cranberries because they are so pretty and festive! They were the perfect burst of holiday for our muffins!
The muffins are sweet, tender, and dotted with red, tart cranberries. They have a hint of orange and a sugary, sparkly top!
We loved biting into the muffins and getting a big POP of cranberry! In between bites, the boys would shout POP and giggle. They loved the festive muffins.
If you are looking for an easy holiday recipe to share with friends and family, make our Cranberry Orange Muffins. They are perfect for Christmas morning or anytime of the day!
Cranberry Orange Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- Zest of 1 large orange
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
- 1/2 cup whole milk at room temperature
- 1 cup fresh cranberries fresh or frozen
- Coarse sugar for sprinkling on top of muffins
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray or line with paper muffin liners.
- 2. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- 3. In another small bowl, combine sugar and orange zest. Rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingers until fragrant.
- 4. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla, orange juice, and milk. Mix until combined. Add flour mixture and mix on low until just combined. Carefully stir in the cranberries.
- 5. Divide batter evenly into 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle muffins with sugar. Bake for 23 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let muffins cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Serve warm.
- Note-muffins will keep in an airtight container on the counter for up to 2 days. You can freeze the muffins for up to 1 month.
Have you tried this recipe?
Leave a comment below and share a photo on Instagram. Tag @twopeasandpod and hashtag it with #twopeasandtheirpod
These look so festive and delicious!
These look and sound yummy! Do you think I can use dried cranberries as well? If so, what amount would you use?
Merry Christmas, Maria & Josh & the boys!
I think they would be good! Use 1 cup!
So yummy! I had all the ingredients so I knew I had to make them. Thank you for all your delicious recipes
Orange and cranberry together are always a good idea, but in a muffin – I’ll take them all!
These muffins look very pretty. I love the color contrast the cranberries make on them.
Love the orange zest in these muffins!
great flavor combo!!!
And I was just saying the other day how I felt like some cranberry orange muffins–this recipe definitely came at the right time!
I like how you rub the orange zest into the sugar. Such a great idea!
Thank you for sharing amazing recipes like this. Every time I try one, I’m never disappointed.
Have a very Merry Christmas!
Bring on the muffins!
Love the orange and cranberry combo and these muffins look fabulous!
these muffins always remind me of the holidays! the pop of red from the cranberries might be the best part
Oh yummy! These look really good! Merry Christmas!
These look delish! I am running late on posts as usual but love the pics of the muffins…definitely going to give them a try!
I just made a gluten free batch of these muffins, and they are amazing! Thank you for the recipe!
You are welcome! Glad you liked them!
Made these for our Christmas breakfast and they were tasty. They reminded me more of pound cake (a more dense crumb) especially the second day (this morning), but we love pound cake, so no problem. Just wanted to say that cupcake papers have really gone up in price but I can find them more reasonably at the dollar store. Happy new year!
Love the cranberry orange flavor combo. It’s one of my favorites!!
I made these this morning and they were easy to mix up and delicious. I love the smell of the orange zest in the sugar. Very subtle flavor and visual. Nice blend of delicate flavor and sharp tartness when encountering a cranberry. What a nice way to start my new year!
Love these muffins, one of my favorite flavor combinations, cranberry and orange. I did make a few changes. Our family is lactose intolerant so I used unsweetened almond milk. The batter came out thick so I did add just a bit more orange juice and almond milk. Also used half sugar and half Splenda due to family sugar sensitive as well.
Glad you liked the muffins!
Made these for New Years breakfast- yum! So tasty and a fun flavor combo. Would definitely make them again!
Glad you liked the muffins!
I went all through the holidays without one thing that was cranberry and orange. It was a sad realization. I was at the grocery store a few days ago and cranberries were on sale for 99 cents. I bought two bags! I made these this morning and we loved them. The only problem was I didn’t make a double batch. It’s a good thing I have more cranberries 🙂
I just baked your cranberry orange muffins. Oh…my…gosh! They’re delicious! By far the best I’ve ever tasted. They’re moist, and the perfect blend of sweet, cranberry, and orange. Thank you for this recipe. It’s a keeper!
I made these yesterday and they were good, but I could barely taste any orange flavor because the vanilla overpowered. I think maybe next time I will try using orange extract instead of vanilla.
Hi,
Cannot find fresh cranberries. Would you suggest I soak 1 cup of dry cranberries in orange juice?
Thanks!
Well, I’m going to give it a go. This was culled from umpteen recipes on the web.
These were so light, fluffy and bursting with flavor! They were a hit with the family and a perfect addition to our light breakfast.
Do you have to do anything to the cranberries the fresh ones before you add to the batter?
Can I use oil instead of butter?
This is my favorite go-to fall season muffin recipe. Others simply don’t compare. I do change it a bit though. I usually triple the orange zest and double the coarse, raw sugar for the topping. Also, I double the recipe and use an entire bag of fresh cranberries. It’s amazing!!
I love these muffins, this is my favorite muffins recipe. When cranberries aren’t in season I use dried cranberries and they turn out wonderful. I’ve also make them with chocolate chips for chocolate orange muffins and they just as amazing.
So happy you love the muffins!
can u make these into minis
can u make these into minis
Yes! Just reduce the baking time.
I made these for breakfast this morning and they were delicious! I added about half a cup of chocolate chips, just for fun. 😉 I think I could’ve made 13 or 14 muffins, but I didn’t want to pull out another muffin tin, so I crammed it all into one, 12 cup, muffin tin. Because the tins were extra full, I did end up baking them for 25 minutes, but they turned out great!
I tried rating these, but I can’t get the stars to stay when I click on them. 5 stars from me!
Just made these yesterday and even with almond milk they were DELICIOUS!!
Love these. Made them with my two-year old and they’re the perfect balance of orange to cranberry!
These were fantastic the second time around when I woke up and used baking powder instead of baking soda! Thanks for sharing because I was looking for a way to use cranberries.
Used less sugar as I like the tartness of the cranberries. Very delicious and will make again.
I LOVE these muffins! I’ve made them several times and they’re one of my favorites.
I’ve been making these for a few years now – they are so delicious! One of my favorites.
I love them too!