These festive Cranberry Orange Muffins feature fresh cranberries, fresh orange juice, and a touch of orange zest! Frozen cranberries can be used, but I don’t suggest using dried cranberries. Bust out your muffin pan and treat yourself to a batch today!
Cranberry Orange Muffins
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: cranberries are the underdog of the holiday season!
But not in our house! And definitely not on this website! Because this year we’re baking cranberry orange scones, cranberry hand pies, and now, cranberry muffins!!!
And oh, these muffins, you guys! They’re so moist, pack a punch of orange flavor, and are exploding with vibrant cranberries. We’ve made them 3 times this month and I see no end in sight!
They’re perfect for breakfast, brunch, or as an afternoon snack. Heck, add a glaze and you could call it dessert. So basically, they’re perfect morning, noon, or night.
How to Make Cranberry Muffins:
- Prepare the Pan: After you preheat your oven, you’ll need to line a muffin tin with paper baking cups, and then spray the pan and liners lightly with non-stick baking spray. If you don’t have baking spray, you can lightly grease the top of the pan with butter. This step just ensures your muffins will come out of the pan effortlessly. You can also gently run a knife around the edges of the muffin tops to help with this.
- Make the Batter: You’ll need an electric hand mixer and a large bowl for this recipe! But a stand mixer will also work! You’ll whip the room temperature butter, sugars, and orange zest until light and fluffy. Be sure to scrape the sides AND bottom of your bowl here. Then toss in the eggs and extracts. Then you’ll alternate adding in your dry ingredients (all purpose flour, baking powder, salt, cardamom, nutmeg) and liquid ingredients (orange juice and sour cream). Finally, gently fold in the cranberries.
- Bake the Muffins: Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin tins. Sprinkle with sparkling sugar, if using. And bake in preheated oven for 25 to 27 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of muffin comes out clean. Placed muffin tin on a cooling rack for at least 20 minutes before serving.
How Long do These Muffins Last?
Cooled muffins are best eaten the day they are baked! But will keep for 3 days, wrapped tightly in saran wrap, and stored at room temperature. Reheat for a few seconds in the microwave or in a toaster oven. Delicious with a slather of butter and a drizzle of honey!
Can I add Nuts? Chocolate Chips?
Absolutely, you can! I would suggest adding up to 3/4 cup of chocolate chips. And no more than a 1/2 cup of toasted nuts. Walnuts or pecans would be especially delightful! Adding more than the suggested quantity above could weight down the muffins and cause them to sink in the middle and/or bake up dry.
More Cranberry Recipes:
- Cranberry Banana Muffins
- Easy Apple Cranberry Crisp
- White Chocolate Cranberry Bundt Cake
- Cranberry Eggnog Muffins
- Cranberry Orange Cake
Bakery-Style Cranberry Orange Muffins
Ingredients
For the Cranberry Orange Muffins:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 Tablespoon orange zest, finely grated
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon orange extract, optional
- 1 cup full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup orange juice
- 2 cups cranberries, fresh or frozen
For the Orange Glaze (Optional):
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest, finely grated
- 2 teaspoons whole milk, more if needed to achieve desired consistency
Instructions
For the Cranberry Orange Muffins:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and spray lightly with non-stick baking spray. Set aside until needed.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cardamom; set aside.
- In a separate large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugars, orange zest, vanilla extract, and orange extract. And beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, and scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Turn mixer off and set batter aside for a moment. In a spouted bowl or measuring cup, add the sour cream and orange juice and whisk well to combine.
- With the mixer speed on low, alternate adding the flour mixture and the sour cream mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Be sure not to over mix here. Fold the cranberries into the batter, mixing just until evenly combined.
- Divide the batter evenly among prepared muffin tins.
- Bake for 25 to 27 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, or with a just a few moist crumbs attached. Cool muffins 10 minutes in the pan before transferring to a cooling rack.
For the Orange Glaze:
- In a medium mixing bowl combine the confectioners' sugar, orange juice, zest, and milk; whisk until smooth, adding more milk as needed to reach desired consistency. Drizzle over the muffins right before serving.
Hello, can we use dried cranberries in this recipe??
Thank you
Hi Evelyn. I don’t suggest it. But frozen will work.
I used dried cranberries work well I just soaked for hour in the orange juice , very moist muffin
These muffins are delicious. If I wanted to make these as mini muffins,how long would you need to bake them for?
I’m not saying to defy the author of this recipe, but I’ve used dried cranberries in baking, but, they need to be soaked in hot water for about 30 minutes to allow them swell. During some season’s, fresh cranberries are not available. I’ve never tried cooking with the fresh in baked goods, but the dried are full of sugar. Soaking them may remove the sugar getting them back closer to the fresh condition. as recommended here. I will try this recipe. I’m trying to eat less Calorie Rich And processed (acronym -crap) for health, but this will be an occasional treat. Thank you for sharing.
i make a cranberry orange oatmeal cookie. YUM!! I do use dried cranberries, but I plump them first.
I will use a healthier version of cranberry orange muffins and only 96 calories
Can I use dry cranberries
Just made these and OMG they are delicious! Thanks for the recipe. Now I need to make scones.
Hi!! I ended up with 18 muffins…I am guessing I should have made these as jumbo…lol Do you happen to know the nutrition facts…carbs in particular without the glaze? My daughter is a T1 diabetic and I would like for her to be able to eat these as well!
These look beautiful! What can I substitute for the sour cream? I can’t tolerate dairy.
Hi Linda, I ‘m not the author , just another baker, so I hope my advice is still welcome. I am lactose intolerant. My local grocery stores have lactose-free sour cream…and ice cream, yogurt and cream cheese, all sans lactose!! 😀
I made these yesterday. I used So delicious coconut yogurt, unsweetened. They were delicious!
Loved this quick and easy recipe. The cranberries gave a lovely tart burst, & the orange zest gives that hint of citrus. I finished mine with the orange glaze for the finishing bright sweet hit.
Just baked these today. Delicious! Not sure what size cupcake tin you used, but I was able to get 18 out of the batter. Baked for 20 minutes and they were perfect!
Made these last night and they are delicious! My store didn’t have orange extract so I omitted it (but will try to get some for next time) and didn’t have fresh cranberries yet so I used frozen and thawed them a bit. Sprinkled with some sanding sugar and omg, delicious! I managed to get 16 muffins out of this recipe in my (shallow?) Trudeau muffin tin. I will absolutely be making these again! Thank you!
Can this mix be made into a bread by putting it in a loaf pan & reducing the temperature to 350?
I made these yesterday. They don’t look anything like yours. They’re good, but the tops were hard. A lot of work. I’m very disappointed. I make muffins often, but figure I must have done something wrong. Any ideas?
Hi Maryjo. I’m so sorry you were disappointed. The muffin tops should be quite firm and dense, with a softer muffin bottom below. If they were too hard, you could try baking them at a slightly lower temperature.
I baked mine at 350 for 30 minutes and it came out perfect!
Saw the recipe on Instagram and decided to give them a try. They turned out absolutely delicious, flavourful, moist wnd not overly sweet. The recipe made 18 full size muffins. Not complaining. Definitely this is a Kepler for me. Thanks
For sharing.
First time to make these Cranberry Orange muffins. I was a little skeptical about using so much sugar, but I know cranberries need the extra sweetness to balance their tartness. These muffins are delicious and I would make them again.
Hi Debra! I’m so happy you enjoyed them! And yes exactly, the extra sugar helps cut the tartness of the cranberries 😉
Looks delicious! Can I use canned pumpkin instead of the sour cream?
I just made the cranberry orange muffins and they are delicious!!! thank you so much for such good recipes. I was also skeptical about the sugar but they are perfectly balanced with the tartness of the cranberries.
Can you make muffin dough the day before?
I don’t recommend it. It should be used within an hour or so of assembly.
If you want to save time, measure out all your ingredients the night before. I agree with her, they are best fresh made in the morning!
Going to be making these soon!
Can they be frozen??
Thank you
Made these muffins for Thanksgiving morning breakfast. Turned out beautiful and delicious! I did not have orange extract, so I doubled the zest. I made 1/2 of a recipe and got seven jumbo size muffins. I also bake them at 3:50 instead of 400 and that worked well. They were so so good! This recipe is a keeper for sure!
They are delicious muffins, but I wish I would have seen your comment to bake at 350 instead of 400 degrees. Mine were on the dry side and feel it was due to too hot an oven.
Thanks for the information , this is what I wanted was jumbo muffins. Could you tell me how long you baked them for? Thanks for help.
Made 12 mini muffins and then used the remaining batter to fill two glass pie plates to create 1″ artisan circular breakfast loaves. Outstanding! Made the glaze as well. Perfect!
Used almond flour (gluten free) instead of the all purpose flour. Super moist. A keeper for sure!
Can these be frozen?
Yes! They’re truly best the day they’re made, but will freeze for up to 2 months.
I love this recipe so much. I make it probably once a week, and have shared it with a bunch of friends as well. It’s just so simple and so delicious! Thank you!
Too high and too long baking temperature. Mine were over baked at the minimum baking time of 25 minutes. They were very dry.
Sorry to hear that, Carol! Your oven may run slightly high. You could try reducing the temperature by 25 degrees halfway though the baking next time. Another thing would be to make sure you’re lightly spooning your flour into the measuring cup and then leveling it off.
Hi! In these pictures do you not have the glaze on them? Also is that sanding sugar you dusted on them? They look amazing, thank you for the recipe! Can’t wait to try.
I don’t have any Cardsmom. Can I leave it out?
Hi! Just another baker but I didn’t have cardamom either. I substituted 1/4 teas of ginger and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon and it worked out really well.
My children love this muffins. Its so festive. We will make it for Chistmas.
Hi!
Can I make this ahead?
Make the batter the night before and bake them in the morning ?
Having brunch this weekend I will make them!
Thank you
These are truly the most delicious muffins I’ve ever eaten. I had to make a few changes due to what I had in stock: no cardamom, orange pineapple juice instead of regular o.j. The batter was very thick- I thought I had messed up along the way, but I crossed my fingers and kept going! I scooped the batter into a 12-muffin tray…filled to the top. AND 2 personal-size cake tins. The batch was huge!! They all baked up perfectly with the indicated temp and time. The glaze was superb. I had to substitute 2 teaspoons of sour cream for the milk (we drink almond milk and it doesn’t play well with others). Seriously the best muffins Ever!! Thank you so very, very much for sharing this recipe!
Thank you for the recipe! For my taste, there was too much cardamom and not enough strong orange flavor (I didn’t have any orange extract on hand). If you want a strong orange flavor definitely use the orange extract. I think next time I’ll halve the cardamom.
When it says orange juice, does it mean store bought or freshly squeezed?
Either will work!
I just made it and it came out great! Excellent recipe!
15 minute prep time was more like 40 minutes with grating orange zest, juicing orange, etc. Batter is quite thick and I have more than enough to make 18-24 standard size muffins. Can’t say how they came out yet as they are currently in the oven, but my home smells Wonderfully like fresh oranges.
🙂
My favorite orange/cranberry muffin to date! I did not have orange extract so I substituted with lemon extract.
Highly recommend this recipe.
I absolutely loved the recipe! I didn’t have cardamom or orange extract, but I did have both in essential oils so I added 1 drop of cardamom and about 3 drops of wild orange. Worked great!
I have made these twice and I can’t wait to make them again. Even my mom who is an excellent cook and whose favorite thing is a cranberry orange muffin said these are the best ones she’s had. one time i make slightly smaller muffins and then put the rest in a small bundt pan with the glaze and ate it like cake. SO. GOOD.
My substitutions: dried unsweetened cranberries, SO delicious unsweetened vanilla coconut milk for sour cream, pumpkin pie spice for cardamom. I reduced the sugar to 3/4 cup and cooked at 350 for 35 minutes. I’ve only eaten one so far but it came out tasting great! I’ll have to double or triple the zest next time cause I’d like a stronger orange flavor. The texture inside was nice.
So I have been cooking since I could stand on a stool to see what my Mother was doing. I have catered events for 200 people practically by myself. But muffins……well….they are my Kryptonite. They always seem to turn out either dry and lifeless or extremely heavy and dense. UNTIL THESE! OMG! These muffins are so good…..the perfect texture and so tasty! Thank you for a wonderful recipe !
I just have to say, these have become a real favorite with friends and family. The icing makes them, but I also love the texture of them. I use big muffin cups, 2 inches deep, which makes 12 lovely, large muffins. I have used both fresh and frozen cranberries. Wondering if upping the spices and zest would give them a little more punch. Also thought about making them with blueberries and lemon icing.
Yummy, Very Very tasty , I tried it at home and everyone loved it.
Thanks