Cranberry Orange Muffins
Made with freshly squeezed orange juice and your choice of fresh or dried cranberries, these cranberry orange muffins are the perfect way to kickstart any fall or winter morning.
These beautiful bakery-style muffins boast the same seasonal flavors as my favorite cranberry orange bread, but we’re making some changes to make them EVEN better!
I decided to make these muffins with dried cranberries so you can make them year-round, but I’ve tested this recipe with fresh cranberries and they work great too! To take these muffins over the top, the dried cranberries are infused with orange juice to give them even more flavor.
There’s also fresh orange juice and zest in the batter as well as a sweet orange glaze on top to give these muffins a fragrant orange flavor that pairs so beautifully with the cranberries.
These muffins store well at room temperature and can also be frozen for several months, making them a fantastic breakfast option for busy weeks. They would even be a great Christmas morning breakfast to tide you over until the main meal!
See How They’re Made
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
Cranberries
I used sweetened dried cranberries and didn’t find these muffins too sweet. If you have fresh cranberries on hand or prefer to use them, you can add 1 ½ cups to the batter instead. The baking time should remain roughly the same.
Orange Juice & Zest
I prefer to use an 8 ounce bottle of fresh orange juice to soak the dried cranberries in and freshly squeezed orange juice for the muffin batter and icing. I don’t recommend using orange juice from concentrate because it’s not as fresh and bright in flavor as fresh orange juice.
Don’t Skip Soaking Your Cranberries!
A quick soak in some warm orange juice plumps up the dried cranberries and infuses them with a bold orange flavor. I prefer to do this before I start mixing the batter together, so the cranberries have a good amount of time to soak up the orange juice.
Some brands of dried cranberries are also chewier than others, which can give the muffins an unpleasant texture. Soaking the cranberries ahead of time prevents this from happening!
Note: If you’re using fresh cranberries, this step isn’t necessary and you can just fold them directly into the muffin batter.
How To Zest & Juice The Oranges
Always make sure to wash your oranges to remove any specks of dirt or a wax coating that’s been applied for preservation purposes.
Once they’re clean, pat them dry, then use the fine side of a box grater or a microplane (my tool of choice!) to gently zest the oranges. Once the white pith starts to show, turn the orange and continue zesting. You only want to zest the orange part of the skin because the pith is very bitter and you don’t want that in your batter!
After zesting, just roll the oranges on the countertop while pressing down gently with your palm. This will help the oranges release more juice after slicing them in half and squeezing them. If you have a citrus juicer, now’s the perfect time to use it! Otherwise, your hands and some upper body strength will do just fine.
Tips For Perfect Muffins
- Beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. The butter and sugar mixture should become noticeably lighter in color; this signals that you’ve beaten in a good amount of air, which will help the muffins rise in the oven and make them even fluffier.
- Don’t over mix the batter. Over mixing the batter will cause the gluten in the flour to over develop, leading to dense, tough muffins. To prevent this from happening, make sure to only mix in the dry ingredients until just combined and gently fold in the cranberries.
- Fill each liner to the top. These aren’t cupcakes! Adding that little bit of extra batter is how we create a beautiful muffin top.
- Bake at a higher temperature. This activates the baking soda and baking powder more quickly, which helps the muffins rise more and hold their pretty domed shape even after cooling.
Can I Add A Crumb Topping?
Yes! You’re welcome to top these cranberry orange muffins with your favorite crumb topping or you can use the topping from my pumpkin muffin recipe.
Different Glaze/Icing Options
Feel free to omit the orange glaze altogether or replace it with something else like the cinnamon maple glaze from my pumpkin donuts or the vanilla glaze from my pumpkin bundt cake. For a sweeter muffin, my cream cheese frosting with a little orange zest mixed in would be delicious too!
Muffin perfection! These muffins took several rounds of recipe testing and I’m so happy with how they turned out. I hope you love them as much as we did!
If you try this recipe don’t forget to leave a comment below to let me know how they turned out! Happy Baking!
Cranberry Orange Muffin Recipe
Ingredients
Cranberry Orange Muffins
- 1 ¼ cups sweetened dried cranberries (160 grams)
- 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice divided (see note)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour spooned & leveled (250 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened (113 grams; 1 stick)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
- ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar (67 grams)
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt at room temperature (120 grams)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup whole milk at room temperature (80 ml)
Orange Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar (120 grams)
- 1 ½ to 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
Instructions
- To make the cranberry orange muffins: Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a 12-count muffin pan with liners and set aside.
- Add the dried cranberries to a large heat-safe bowl. Place 1 cup of the orange juice in a separate microwave-safe measuring cup and heat in the microwave until it’s hot (this should take about 60 to 90 seconds). You can also heat the orange juice on the stove, but I find the microwave to be a little easier! Pour the orange juice over the dried cranberries and gently stir them. Set aside to cool.1 ¼ cups sweetened dried cranberries,1 cup plus 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.2 cups all-purpose flour,1 teaspoon baking powder,½ teaspoon baking soda,½ teaspoon salt
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a handheld mixer, cream the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and orange zest together for 2 to 3 minutes until light and fluffy.½ cup unsalted butter,½ cup granulated sugar,⅓ cup packed light brown sugar,1 tablespoon freshly grated orange zest
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stop and scrape down the sides of the bowl, then mix in the sour cream and vanilla extract.2 large eggs,½ cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt,2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- Add half of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined, then mix in the milk and remaining 3 tablespoons of fresh orange juice. Add the last half of the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Use a rubber spatula to scrape around the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is thoroughly mixed together.⅓ cup whole milk
- Strain the excess orange juice from the dried cranberries, then gently fold them into the batter.
- Distribute the batter evenly between all 12 liners, filling each one all the way to the top.
- Bake for 18 to 23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then carefully remove the muffins from the pan, and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the orange glaze: In a large mixing bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the powdered sugar and 1 ½ tablespoons of orange juice until well combined and no lumps remain. If the glaze is too thick, add a little more orange juice to thin it out. If the glaze is too thin, add more powdered sugar to thicken it.1 cup powdered sugar,1 ½ to 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
- Drizzle the glaze on top of all 12 muffins and set aside for 10 to 15 minutes to allow the glaze to harden.
