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+ servings
A stack of orange cranberry muffins on a white plate.
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5 from 12 votes

Cranberry Orange Muffins

Cranberry Orange Muffins are quick and simple to make from scratch!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American
Servings: 12

Equipment

  • Zester
  • Muffin Pan

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ½ cup granulated sugar
  • cup light brown sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp cinnamon or more to taste
  • 2 Tbsp orange zest from 1-2 oranges
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • ½ cup unsalted butter melted
  • 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ cup milk
  • cup orange juice freshly squeezed
  • 1 ½ cups cranberries fresh or unthawed frozen

Instructions

  • Preheat an oven to 420F (215C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake liners.
  • In a large bowl, stir together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and orange zest.
  • In a second bowl, whisk together the egg, melted butter, vanilla extract, milk, and orange juice until blended. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, stirring just combined and everything is evenly moistened. It is ok if the batter is slightly lumpy.
  • Using a silicone spatula, fold in the cranberries just until evenly distributed, do not overmix. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling the cups all the way to the top.
  • Bake for 5 minutes at 420F (215C), then keeping the muffins in the oven, lower the oven temperature to 350F (180C) and bake for 15-20 more minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean and the muffins are golden on top.
  • Transfer the pan to a cooling rack and let the muffins cool for 5 minutes. Remove the muffins from the pan and let cool to room temperature on the rack.

Notes

  • Mixing by hand is preferred for this recipe! A stand or hand mixer is too powerful and will over-mix the batter easily.
  • Mix until the wet and the dry ingredients are just combined! Not over-mixing the batter makes these muffins bake up tall and creates the perfect moist and tender texture!
  • You can make these with fresh or frozen cranberries! If you use frozen, you don’t need to thaw them. Dried cranberries work too! Check out my tips in the post above.
  • Filling the muffin cups evenly and almost to the top ensures that the muffins cook evenly with high-bakery style tops and are ready at the same time.
  • A 1/4 cup cookie or ice cream scoop works best to evenly distribute the batter between the muffin cups.

Nutrition

Calories: 228kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 116mg | Potassium: 163mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 318IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 1mg