Muffins are always a hit in my house – some of our favorites include chocolate chip muffins, cherry muffins and healthy blueberry muffins. During the winter months I make a ton of these cranberry muffins and also cranberry bread. These treats are the perfect blend of sweet and tart flavors! When fresh cranberries are in season, I bake with them almost every week. I just can’t get enough of that sweet-tart flavor combination. These cranberry muffins taste like they came from a fancy bakery, but they’re actually super easy to make. One of my all time favorite breakfast recipes!
Cranberry Muffins Ingredients
To make this recipe, you will need flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, buttermilk, butter, orange zest, vanilla extract, egg, fresh cranberries, cinnamon, powdered sugar and orange juice.
How Do You Make Cranberry Muffins?
Preheat the oven and coat a muffin tin with cooking spray. Place the dry ingredients of flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients of buttermilk, butter, orange zest, vanilla extract and egg. Add the wet ingredients to the well in the center of the dry ingredients, and stir just until a batter forms. Gently fold in the cranberries. Spoon the batter into the muffin tin. Bake until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs. To make the streusel topping, place flour, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl and stir it all together. Use forks or a pastry blender to cut in cold butter until large crumbs form. Sprinkle the streusel over the muffins and place them in the oven. Cool the muffins completely before you add the glaze. To make the glaze, mix together powdered sugar and orange juice. Drizzle the glaze over the muffins, then serve and enjoy.
Tips For The Perfect Muffins
No buttermilk on hand? You can make your own for this recipe by combining 1 1/4 cups milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes, then proceed with the recipe as directed. Feel free to use paper liners for the muffin tin for easier cleanup. I use a microplane to zest my oranges, it works so much better than a typical box grater. Serve your muffins as a snack, for a sweet finish to a meal, or offer them for brunch alongside other winter favorites such as slow cooker apple cider or slow cooker hot chocolate, sticky buns and sausage casserole. These muffins stay fresh at room temperature for up to 3 days in an airtight container. If you need to store the muffins for a longer period of time, I’d recommend keeping them in the fridge or the freezer. You can microwave refrigerated muffins for about 10-15 seconds to make them taste like they were freshly baked. Got leftover cranberries? Stir them into Christmas punch, make cranberry chicken for dinner, prepare some cranberry orange sauce, or make a sweet and creamy cranberry salad!
Flavor Variations
There are so many different ways to add new flavors to these muffins, here are a few of my favorites.
White Chocolate Chips: Add 1/2 cup white chocolate chips to the batter. Lemon: Swap out the orange zest and orange juice for lemon zest and lemon juice. Apple: Add 1 chopped, peeled apple to the batter. Coconut: Add 1/2 cup flaked coconut to the batter.
These cranberry muffins are so festive and delicious. They’re perfect for a holiday brunch, or sometimes I even package them up in tins and deliver them to family and friends for an unexpected yet welcome edible gift. Once you try these muffins, you’ll be as hooked as we are!
