Cranberry Orange Muffins

Filled with tart, fresh cranberries and sweet orange, Cranberry Orange Muffins are special enough for a holiday weekend breakfast but easy enough to make any day of the week.

If you have guests over for the holidays, there’s one thing I know for sure: You’ll want to have some easy breakfast options on hand.

Especially if you have family members who all get up at different times. You need to have something on hand for early risers and late risers.

I like to make a skillet with my make-ahead breakfast casserole or Mexican breakfast casserole, defrost some frozen fruit and prepare a batch of freshly baked muffins. There is something for everyone!

I will definitely be making these blueberry orange muffins this year.

SWEET MUFFINS AND ORANGE AND BLUEBERRY CRYSTALS

I Love muffin. Whether I get them at the bakery, with my morning Starbucks, or make them at home, they are one of my favorite little treats.

I especially like to change my favorite muffin recipe based on the seasons.

In the fall I focus on apple cinnamon muffins. In spring there are strawberry and banana muffins. At the end of winter, it’s poppy seed and lemon muffins.

And during the holidays, I enjoy these blueberry orange muffins.

I love pairing the tartness of cranberries with the sweet flavor of oranges. From the orange-cranberry cinnamon rolls to the orange-cranberry scones, it’s a flavor combination that can’t be beat in my book.

This cranberry orange muffin recipe makes 12 moist, perfectly flavorful muffins. The dough comes together in just a few minutes and bakes in about 17 minutes, meaning you can go from having no muffins to having a full batch of freshly baked muffins in just over 30 minutes.

With their crunchy sugar topping and delicious flavors, these muffins are special enough for a weekend breakfast or afternoon snack. But they’re easy enough to make even on a weekday morning.

This is my kind of recipe, okay?

HOW TO PREPARE ORANGE AND BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

Muffins are a great thing to make for beginners. They are not at all complicated and do not require special tools, such as a mixer. Anyone can prepare this recipe and amaze their friends!

Ingredients you will need

To prepare these orange and blueberry muffins you will need:

• Zest of 1 orange
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh cranberries
• 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup light brown sugar
• ¾ teaspoon of baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup orange juice
• ¾ cup buttermilk
• 6 tablespoons of vegetable oil
• Coarse sugar, for garnish

I have a microplane that I keep on hand for grating citrus, grating fresh nutmeg, and even grating parmesan. They are really cheap and super useful tools to have in the kitchen!

This recipe calls for fresh cranberries. You can also use frozen cranberries; do not thaw them before coarsely chopping them. If they are completely thawed when you add them to the batter, they may discolor slightly.

Don’t worry about using freshly squeezed orange juice for this recipe. If you have it, great! But bottled orange juice will work just as well.

If you don’t like cooking with vegetable oil, use your favorite neutral-flavored oil, such as avocado oil, instead.

Useful resources

I’m making these orange and blueberry muffins

This recipe makes 12 muffins, so line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners or spray it with nonstick cooking spray.

Start by mixing the orange zest and granulated sugar in a bowl. Rub the two ingredients together with your fingertips until the sugar is moistened and fragrant. This will release the oils from the orange zest and make the muffins even more fragrant and delicious.

Season the chopped cranberries with the orange sugar and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt.

In a separate bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the egg, orange juice, buttermilk and oil. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, then pour the wet ingredients into the well and mix until well combined.

Stir in the cranberries, along with their sugar, and divide the batter into the prepared muffin tins. I like to use a large cookie scoop (3 tablespoon size) to do this.

Sprinkle the surface with coarse sugar, then bake at 180°C for 10 minutes. Without opening the oven door, set the oven temperature to 350°F and set the timer for another 6-7 minutes.

This is one cooking method I learned from The kitchen and now I use it on all my muffin recipes.

The muffins are cooked when the surface is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

I let the cranberry orange muffins cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before placing them on a wire rack to finish cooling.

STORAGE TIPS

Store cranberry orange muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

You can also freeze them for long-term storage. Place them in a zippered freezer bag and freeze for up to a month.

When you’re ready to enjoy a muffin, pop it in the microwave for 30 to 60 seconds to thaw and reheat.

Frequent questions

Can I use dried cranberries instead of fresh?

Dried cranberries are naturally sweeter than fresh cranberries. I don’t recommend using them in this recipe as the amount of sugar was determined based on the tart, fresh cranberries.

If you’re looking for dried cranberry recipes, check out my dried cranberry bars.

Can I make these blueberry orange muffins vegan or dairy-free?

YES! For a dairy-free version, replace the buttermilk with my buttermilk substitute using your favorite dairy-free milk.

For a vegan version, swap the buttermilk as directed above and use a flax egg instead of the egg.

Can I make these muffins gluten free?

I haven’t tried this recipe using gluten-free flours. However, many readers have successfully made my muffins and quick breads using 1-for-1 gluten-free baking flour.

Is there a vegetable oil substitute I can use?

If you don’t like using vegetable oil, feel free to use your favorite neutral-flavored oil. Avocado oil would be great.

I don’t recommend using butter instead of oil. Oil helps keep the muffins moist, so be sure to use a neutral oil in this recipe.

Can I make mini orange and cranberry muffins with this recipe?

Of course, keep in mind that cooking times will change.

Start the muffins at 425°F: Turn on the oven light and watch when the tops of the muffins have risen. At that point, lower the temperature to 180°C (without opening the oven door) and continue cooking until the orange and blueberry muffins are golden and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

You can follow the same cooking method as giant muffins. You should get about 24 mini muffins and 6 jumbo muffins from this recipe.