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These Cranberry Orange Muffins are everything you crave in a muffin. Bursting with tart cranberries and zesty orange, these bakery-style muffins are soft, fluffy, and topped with a buttery streusel that melts in your mouth.
Inspired by my Sour Cream Coffee Cake and Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake, these Cranberry Orange Muffins combine a buttery cake batter and sweet streusel with a vibrant twist of tart cranberries and fresh orange. They are insanely delicious!
Kristen's Key Tips (Start Here!)
When it comes to making these muffins, I have a few tips that will help ensure perfect results.
- Finely chop cranberries. For the best flavor and texture, it is best to finely chop the cranberries before adding them to the muffin batter. This will ensure that every bite has a bit of cranberry flavor, but the muffins will not be overwhelmed with tartness.
- Fresh or frozen cranberries work. Use fresh cranberries when in season (hello Christmas brunch!), or frozen cranberries if to enjoy these muffins year-round. If using frozen cranberries, don't defrost. Simply process the frozen cranberries briefly in a food processor then add directly to the batter.
- Zest the oranges first. For the most intense orange flavor, this recipe uses both orange zest and orange juice. But it becomes next to impossible to zest citrus after cutting it open, so be sure to zest the orange before juicing it.
Happy Cooking! xo Kristen
How to Make Cranberry Orange Muffins
The following tips are provided to help you achieve perfect results. You will find the ingredient quantities and detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Process Cranberries. The best way to chop the cranberries is to use a food processor fitted with an s-blade. It makes quick work of chopping!
- Combine Dry Ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Add chopped cranberries and orange zest and toss to coat with flour--this will help keep the cranberries and zest suspended throughout the batter.
- Combine Wet Ingredients. In a separate bowl, combine the sugars, melted butter, eggs, vanilla, and milk together.
- Fold Ingredients Together. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just moistened.
- Prepare Streusel. Combine flour, brown sugar and cinnamon together. Add in melted butter and mix until it resembles wet sand.
- Assemble Muffins. To ensure each muffin is even in size and bakes evenly, use an ice cream scoop or ¼ cup measuring cup to scoop the muffin batter into the prepared muffin tin. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the muffin batter.
- Bake Muffins. Bake the muffins in the center rack of a fully preheated oven, until the muffins are set and a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean.
- Prepare Glaze. Use the time that the muffins are cooling to prepare the glaze by whisking them together powdered sugar with milk until a thin glaze if formed.
- Glaze the Muffins. Drizzle the cooled muffins with the glaze.
Recipe Modifications
- Omit the Streusel and/or Glaze. The streusel and the glaze for these Cranberry Orange Muffins are both completely optional. The streusel adds texture, while both provide a sweet finish that helps to balance out the tart cranberry flavor.
- Gluten-Free: Use an all-purpose 1:1 gluten-free flour in place of the all-purpose flour in both the muffin batter and streusel.
- Make a Loaf: Use my recipe for Cranberry Orange Bread to enjoy the same flavors in a simple quick bread recipe! The recipe is a BIT different to account for muffin vs quick bread textures, but every bit as delicious
- Use Whole Grains: This recipe works well using whole white wheat flour, which is still 100% whole grain but has a lighter density than flour simply labeled whole wheat.
Storage Instructions
- At Room Temperature: Cool the muffins fully. Once cooled, transfer the muffins to an airtight container and store at room temperature for 3 days.
- In the Refrigerator: To extend the shelf life of cranberry orange muffins, store the cooled muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- In the Freezer: Place cooled muffins on a cookie sheet and freeze for 30-60 minutes until solid. Once the muffins are frozen solid, place them in a freezer-safe bag and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost the frozen muffins overnight in the refrigerator and then enjoy the defrosted muffins within 3 days.
More Delicious Baked Goods
Cranberry Orange Muffins
These cranberry orange muffins are a delicious, bakery-style coffee cake muffin that is studded with orange and cranberries, topped with a buttery streusel, and finished with an irresistible glaze.
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup milk, any variety
- ⅓ cup pulp-free 100% orange juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Streusel
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 tablespoons milk, + more to thin if needed
Instructions
For Muffin Batter
- Preheat the oven to 350℉/175℃. Use 3 (6-cup) muffin pans for a total of 18 muffins, line with paper liners, or grease well with butter or cooking spray. Set aside.
- Place the cranberries into a food processor fitted with an s-blade and briefly process to chop 1 cup fresh cranberries. Alternatively, you can chop them by hand. Set the cranberries aside to add to the batter later.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon table salt, and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon until well combined. Add the chopped cranberries and 1 teaspoon orange zest and toss to coat the cranberries with flour. Set the mixture aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 2 large eggs, ½ cup light brown sugar, ½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup unsalted butter (melted), ½ cup milk, ⅓ cup pulp-free 100% orange juice, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
- Add the dry ingredients slowly into the wet ingredients and fold together until just incorporated and the flour is fully moistened. Don't overmix.
- Measure out about ¼ cup of the batter to fill each muffin cup with batter, about ¾ of the way.
- To prepare the streusel, combine ¾ cup all-purpose flour, ⅓ cup light brown sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, and 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted) until it resembles wet sand. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over each muffin.
- Bake the muffins on the center rack of the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the muffins are set and a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the oven and cool them on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.
- In a small mixing bowl, combine 2 cups powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons milk Whisk until smooth, adding additional milk, ½ tablespoon at a time to thin, as needed.
- Drizzle the prepared glaze on the cooled muffins.
Equipment
Notes
Storage: Store the cooled muffins in an airtight container on the counter for 3 days or in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Alternatively, you can freeze the cranberry orange muffins in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months.
Using Frozen Cranberries: Process the frozen cranberries in a food processor briefly and then add the cranberries, still frozen, directly to your batter.
Using Dried Cranberries: To use dried cranberries instead of fresh cranberries, you will only want to use ½ cup of dried cranberries. You will also want to soak the dried cranberries in warm water for 15 minutes to plump them up. After soaking, drain off the water, pat the cranberries dry with a paper towel, then fold them into the batter as directed.
Flour: I have had success making these muffins with all-purpose flour, whole white wheat flour, and a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend.
**Note on Muffin Tin: This recipe makes 18 muffins. Therefore, you must use three 6-cup muffin tins OR two 12-cup muffin tins. If you opt to use the 12-cup muffin tins, keep in mind that you will want to add a bit of water to any empty muffin cups before baking, which will prevent the empty cups from scorching.
Nutrition
Calories: 276kcalCarbohydrates: 45gProtein: 3gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 45mgSodium: 207mgPotassium: 89mgFiber: 1gSugar: 29gVitamin A: 328IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 43mgIron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Made these on Christmas for my family and they were delicious. Perfect for Christmas morning bunch.
Sorry I meant to put 5 stars!!
I love hearing you and your family enjoyed these muffins, thank you for sharing!
Cranberry and orange are a match made in heaven. These muffins are wonderful!
So happy to hear you enjoyed, Katie!
I had a question how small are the Cranberries supposed to be cut are they supposed to be cut in half or cut in smaller pieces?
Hi Judy! I personally like them in a smaller pieces--that is why I recommend a food processor 🙂
These were a huge hit! I froze a bunch for next week school days!
Yep! Definitely a new favorite! They were so easy to make too, and my kids said they were even better than chocolate chip! (Their normal favorite!)
That is a huge compliment! Thanks for sharing, Jessica 🙂
Any idea what the sugar content of a muffin is without the strussel?
Hi Debbie! I am not sure why you think that, as the nutrition was based on ALL of the ingredients, even the glaze.