Cranberry Orange Muffins
Cranberry Orange Muffins are Super moist, flavor packed and tender muffins that stay fresh for days! These muffins taste like the Holidays and we love them for breakfast on any busy day! Our cranberry orange muffins have such a perfect texture, it's hard to believe they're a simple one bowl recipe
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients Bowl
- 2 cups Flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- pinch salt
Wet Ingredients Bowl
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 orange zest
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup oil Avocado oil or any neutral tasting oil
- 1/2 cup Milk whole milk if possible.
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup Cranberries fresh or frozen not thawed. May use up to 1 1/2 cups to your taste
Glaze
- 1 1/2 cups confectioner sugar
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 2-3 Tablespoons orange juice see notes on consistency
Instructions
-
Preheat the oven to 374 degrees F. Line a standard size muffin pan with baking paper or spray with oil and set aside.
-
In a large bowl, add the milk, sugar, eggs, oil, vanilla, orange zest and orange juice. Whisk that well until smooth.
-
Now take the bowl of flour, salt and baking powder and pour it over the large bowl with the wet ingredients already mixed in.
-
Use a whisk to blend in the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, but avoid overbeating it. Some lumps need to be there and this allows for a fluffier muffin.
-
Now, the final step is to add in the fresh (or frozen not thawed) cranberries. At that point you'll switch to a spatula and gently fold the cranberries into the batter.
-
Divide the batter among a standard size muffin pan.
-
Bake the muffins for about 18 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean.
-
Allow the muffins to cool slightly in the pan for 10 minutes before removing them from the pan.
-
Make the Glaze
-
Mix in a bowl the confectioners sugar, and then add in the orange zest and whisk that in. Now add in the orange juice in small amount. Add in a tablespoon at a time while whisking until you've reached the desired consistency of the glaze.
-
If your glaze has gone too thick, add in a touch more of orange juice. While if you feel your glaze has gone too thin for your taste, add a little more confectioner sugar until you've reached the desired consistency.
-
Now drizzle the glaze over the cranberry orange muffins using a spoon, be as generous as you like!
-
Enjoy the muffins or store as below,
Recipe Notes
Tips for the BEST Cranberry Orange Muffins
Use a bowl and a whisk for best results, avoid using a mixer or over beating your batter as this will create a tough bread like muffin.
Make sure you see some lumps in the batter after mixing in the dry ingredients , as long as you don't see dry specs of flour.
Have your oven preheated before beginning to make the batter, and line your muffin pans or oil them ahead as well.
Use fresh orange zest and juice for maximum flavor.
Zest the orange before juicing it. Then cut in half and juice it using a hand held wooden juicer.
We love fresh cranberries as they're seasonal, but you can use frozen unthawed cranberries as well.
Dried cranberries don't have the same flavor as fresh, and may requires 10 minute soak in boiling water to hydrate slightly.
Keep an eye on your oven as each oven operates differently and the heat may not be distributed evenly.
The muffins are ready when a toothpick inserted along the center of the muffin comes out clean.
Keep the muffins for about 8 minutes in the muffin pan before removing them, as they are super tender when hot and may break apart.
The glaze will not make your muffins overly sweet, as the cranberries are tart and the muffins are not too sweet to start with.
It's best to glaze the muffins while they are still warm, not too hot or too cold.
How to store those muffins?
Keep them on the counter for up to 3 days stored in an air tight container or covered in plastic wrap.
Can I substitute Frozen or Dried Cranberries for the muffins?
YES, frozen cranberries are a great substitute as they taste just like the fresh ones when baked. Dried cranberries on the other hand have a different taste and texture, so it's recommended to soak them in boiling water (or orange juice) for 10 minutes before baking them.
Can I make Cranberry Orange Muffins ahead of time?
You can prepare the batter the night before and bake the muffins in the morning. Likewise you can bake the muffins the night before and enjoy them tasting just as fresh in the morning.
Can I Freeze the muffins?
YES! It's a perfect freezer friendly option. Once baked and cooled (do not glaze in this case), place the muffins in a tight ziploc bag and freeze them for up to 3 months. To reheat them, make sure you defrost the muffins in the fridge overnight and reheat the in a 350 degrees oven for 5 minutes. Glaze and enjoy!