Cranberry Orange Muffins Recipe

4.93 from 85 votes

Cranberry Orange Muffins Recipe

These easy bakery-style Cranberry Orange Muffins are moist, delicious, and bursting with bright flavor. Drizzled with a simple sweet orange glaze, these muffins are crowd favorites and perfect for the holidays and weekend brunch.

Prep Time5

Cook Time25

Total Time30

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Servings: muffins

Author: Robyn Stone

Equipment

Ingredients

2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour + 2 teaspoons (2.5 g) for coating fresh cranberries, if used
1½ teaspoons (6 g) baking powder
½ teaspoon (1.4 g) kosher salt
2 cups (198 g) fresh cranberries or 1 cup (114 g) dried cranberries
½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter room temperature
1 cup (198 g) granulated sugar
2 large (100 g) eggs room temperature
2 teaspoons (9.3 g) vanilla extract
(6-9 g) zest of 1 orange
½ cup (113.5 g) milk room temperature

Orange Glaze:

2 tablespoons (34 g) orange juice
1 cup (113 g) confectioner's sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375º F. Spray muffin tins with bakers spray or coat well with shortening or butter and flour, making sure to discard any excess flour from the tins after coating.
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
Toss together fresh cranberries and 2 teaspoons of flour to coat cranberries in a separate bowl. Set aside. If using dried cranberries, simply skip this step.
Cream together butter and sugar until lightened in color, about 3 minutes. Add an egg, one at a time, taking care to fully incorporate before adding the other. Mix in vanilla and orange zest.
Gently fold in flour mixture, alternating with milk. Stir until just combined. Fold in cranberries (fresh or dried) and scoop mixture into prepared muffin tins, filling about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick or skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
Prepare orange glaze topping for muffins while the muffins are baking by stirring together until well-combined.
Once muffins have baked, remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly in the muffin tin. Then, remove each muffin and drizzle with orange glaze. Place onto a plate to finish cooling or serve slightly warm.

Notes

Storage Instructions:

Store: Once cooled completely, they can be stored underneath a cake dome for 3 to 4 days at room temperature.
Freeze: Place cooked, cooled muffins onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place in the freezer for 30 - 45 minutes so each muffin freezes individually. (You can freeze unglazed or glazed - if I know ahead I'm freezing, I wait to glaze right before serving). Transfer frozen muffins into a zip-top freezer-safe bag or other freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw completely before serving.
Reheat/Serve: Wrap muffins with foil and reheat at 350 degrees for 10 minutes to serve warm. They can also be served at room temperature. Glaze, if desired, after thawing/reheating.

Nutrition