Cranberry Orange Muffins (2024)

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Cranberry orange muffins are a family favorite for us! Is there any better type of cake than a muffin? Delicate, sweet, and already prepared in miniature servings – why not try this recipe for some cranberry orange muffins for a sweet yet tangy alternative to the thousands of chocolate and blueberry muffin recipes out there? (though those are great as well!)

They would go wonderfully with my Orange Cranberry Relish or drizzle with some Orange icing glaze!

Cranberry Orange Muffins

Most muffins out there are all about exceptional sweetness, offering nothing more than a way to relieve your sweet tooth – muffins ARE just small cakes after all! These muffins, however, are not only sweet and flavorful, but they are bursting with slightly sour, citrusy contrast, making for a great snack.

Just make sure that you get only the very best quality oranges and cranberries that you can; quality really matters with these muffins!

Ingredients for Cranberry Orange Muffins

• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Salt
• Butter (butter)
• Sugar
• Eggs
• Juice & Zest of an orange
• Vanilla extract
• Fresh cranberries ( you can use dried as well, but fresh really makes these special!)

How To Make Cranberry Orange Muffins

• Mix together your melted butter and sugar until creamy.
• Beat in your eggs one at a time, then mix in the orange zest and juice until combined
• Whisk all your dry ingredients together, then add to the wet mixture and stir. Mix in cranberries when almost done and stir until no dry spots remain.
• Bake for 20 minutes at 375 in prepared muffin wells.

How to Get the Best Oranges

Considering how simple this recipe is, you need to make sure you are using the very best oranges you can find. Orange quality can vary SO much in the grocery store, but if you are struggling to find anything beyond regular eating oranges, you can actually substitute some normal orange juice from a carton. Sometimes the oranges in the store are woody with very little juice, if you have a brand that you know is good, use those!

While juice will likely be a lot sweeter, it will have the same flavor profile you are looking for. However, the zest you can use from a regular orange, as the difference in quality isn’t really noticeable.

What Kind of Cranberries Should You Get?

When hunting for the cranberries for this recipe, make sure you aren’t buying the regular dry, sweetened cranberries. Instead, look for fresh cranberries that are in the bag, they will be a bit sourer but carry their flavor much better in the muffins once baked. Fresh cranberries are ONLY available in the fall, so take advantage of them now!

How to Store These Cranberry Orange Muffins

While these muffins do have a lot of fruit in them, the high quantity of sugar helps preserve them, so you don’t need to store them in the fridge. Instead, keep them in a sealed container, or even a freezer-safe bag, and keep them on the counter or a bread box.

In fact, if you really like them, you could freeze half of the batch and then thaw them weeks or months later! After a slow defrosting, you could pop a muffin in a low oven to toast it back up, and it will taste just as good as it did fresh from the oven.

Happy baking!

Love,

Karlynn

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