Cranberry Orange Muffins

Made with dried cranberries, fresh orange zest, and a crunchy streusel topping, these Cranberry Orange Muffins are bakery-quality guaranteed. Take 15 minutes to prep, and you’ll be treated to a dozen warm, homemade muffins ready to savor or share.

Meggan’s notes

Based on my wildly popular Blueberry Muffins recipe (with 4.98 stars out of 5 and 1,500 reviews declaring them the “best muffins EVER”), these Cranberry Orange Muffins should be next on your baking list.

The secret to these muffins is the perfect ratio or wet-to-dry ingredients which creates the perfect mix of texture and flavor: light yet moist, sweet-tart cranberries and fresh citrus in every bite, and a crunchy topping that puts them right over the top.

Whether you’re new to baking or have been baking for decades, you’ll love how easy this recipe is, how delicious they taste, and how wonderful your kitchen smells while they bake. I love them during the winter holidays, but they are honestly fabulous all year round!

Recipe ingredients

At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.

Ingredient notes

• Baking powder: Instead of yeast, muffins, quick breads, biscuits, and scones leverage the power of chemical leavening agents. In this case, baking powder lends loftiness. (Baking soda is another example.)
• Orange: You’ll just need the orange zest for the batter. Once you’re done zesting the orange, reserve the fresh orange juice for salad dressings, smoothies, cakes, glazes, or, of course, a glass of orange juice.
• Cranberries: Or substitute raisins, dried cherries, or any other dried fruit. Mince any large pieces (such as apricots) to evenly distribute throughout the batter.

Step-by-step instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a muffin pan with cupcake liners. In a large mixing bowl, sift together 2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs until smooth. Add the ½ cup melted butter, milk, orange zest, and vanilla, and whisk until combined. Add egg mixture to the dry ingredients and stir until combined (dough will be lumpy.) Fold in dried cranberries.

3. To make the streusel topping, in a medium bowl combine ¼ cup flour, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, cinnamon, and ⅛ teaspoon salt. Using a pastry cutter, cut in butter until topping is crumbly and coarse.

4. Fill prepared muffin cups with batter. Top each muffin with streusel topping, about 1 tablespoon each.

5. Bake until muffin centers bounce back when lightly pressed, about 18 to 22 minutes.

6. Cool muffins on a wire rack for several minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely and store in an airtight container, up to 4 days.

Recipe tips and variations

• Yield: My Cranberry Orange Muffin recipe creates 12 standard-sized muffins.
• Storage: Store leftovers covered at room temperature for up to 4 days.
• Freezer: Transfer muffins to an airtight container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to enjoy them, thaw the muffins at room temperature overnight, then reheat thawed muffins at 300 degrees for 3 to 5 minutes or until warm.

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Cranberry Orange Muffins

By Meggan Hill

Made with dried cranberries, fresh orange zest, and a crunchy streusel topping, these Cranberry Orange Muffins are bakery-quality guaranteed.

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Servings 12 muffins

Course Bread, Breakfast

Cuisine American

Calories 290

5 from 1 vote

ReviewPrint

Equipment

• Muffin pan
• Pastry cutter

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

For the muffins:

• ▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 2 eggs
• ▢ 1/2 cup butter melted
• ▢ 1/2 cup milk
• ▢ 1 tablespoon orange zest
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 cup dried cranberries (4 ounces, see note 1)

For the streusel topping:

• ▢ 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 tablespoons brown sugar packed
• ▢ 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1/8 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 2 tablespoons butter cold

Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a muffin pan with cupcake liners. In a large bowl, sift together 2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, and ½ teaspoon salt. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk eggs until smooth. Add the ½ cup melted butter, milk, orange zest, and vanilla, and whisk until combined. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until combined (dough will be lumpy.) Fold in dried cranberries.
• To make the streusel topping, in a medium bowl combine ¼ cup flour, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, cinnamon, and ⅛ teaspoon salt. Using a pastry cutter, cut in butter until topping is crumbly and coarse.
• Fill prepared muffin cups with batter. Top each muffin with streusel topping, about 1 tablespoon each. Bake until muffin centers bounce back when lightly pressed, about 18 to 22 minutes. Cool muffins on a rack for several minutes before removing from pan. Cool completely and store in an airtight container, up to 4 days.

Notes

1. Cranberries: Or substitute raisins, dried cherries, or any other dried fruit. Mince any large pieces (such as apricots) to evenly distribute throughout the batter.
2. Yield: My Cranberry Orange Muffin recipe creates 12 regular-sized muffins.
3. Storage: Store leftovers covered at room temperature for up to 4 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 muffinCalories: 290kcalCarbohydrates: 45gProtein: 4gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 54mgSodium: 292mgPotassium: 86mgFiber: 2gSugar: 25gVitamin A: 372IUVitamin C: 4mgCalcium: 66mgIron: 1mg

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