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.
Preheat the oven to 350℉. 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 up the cranberries. Alternatively, you can chop them by hand. Set the cranberries aside to add to the batter later.
In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon until well combined. Add the chopped cranberries and orange zest and toss to coat the cranberries with flour. Set the mixture aside.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together eggs, milk, brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, orange juice, and vanilla.
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.
For Streusel
To prepare the streusel, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour in a medium mixing bowl. Add the melted butter and mix until the mixture 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.
For Glaze
In a small mixing bowl, combine sifted powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons of milk. Whisk until smooth, adding up to 1 additional tablespoon of milk.
Drizzle the prepared glaze on the cooled muffins.
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.