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Easy Cranberry Orange Muffins

Easy Cranberry Orange Muffins

Hello! Today’s recipe is a delicious muffin recipe that’s full of orange and cranberry flavours! A lovely treat that’s easy to whip up! Perfect to serve friends and family or just to enjoy on your own.

Seriously, I could snack on these muffins all day, but to prevent myself from doing so, I made my husband bring them into work to share with his colleagues.

I hope you like this recipe for Easy Cranberry Orange Muffins!

How to make these muffins?

Orange zest and juiced oranges on a green cutting board and a glass measuring cup filled with orange juice.

Zest and juice navel oranges. Full recipe ingredients and instructions listed in the recipe card down below.

Dry baking ingredients in a glass bowl with a wire whisk.

In a large bowl, combine together the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt). Set aside.

Cranberry orange muffin batter in a large metal bowl.

Cream the butter and sugar together, then add the vanilla extract and eggs before mixing in the orange juice and half the zest. Whisk in the dry ingredients and stir in the cranberry sauce.

Cranberry orange muffin batter poured into a muffin pan with orange zest on top.

Scoop the batter into a lined muffin pan and top with remaining orange zest. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20-24 minutes.

Freshly baked cranberry orange muffins in a muffin pan.

All done! Let these muffins cool slightly before eating. Enjoy!

Here Are Some Helpful Recipe Tips:

Remember to use soften butter for this recipe. What’s soften butter? It’s commonly referred as room temperature butter as well. The butter should be soft enough that your finger easily leaves an impression when gently pressed, but it should not be melted at all.

  • It’ll usually get to the right consistency if you leave it out on the counter for 30-60 minutes, depending on the temperature of the room.
  • But let’s face it, who remembers to? I place it in the microwave at a lower heat setting and warm the butter at 10 second intervals until I get the right texture.

For zesting the oranges, I always recommend using a microplane zester/grater to zest citrus fruits as it’s the easiest method and you’ll get the most zest using one.

  • If you don’t have a zester, you can use the smallest holes on a box grater or use a vegetable peeler to carefully remove the orange skin (not the white pith underneath) and then finely mince the skin up.
  • To juice the oranges, roll the oranges on a flat surface using the palm of your hand before using a citrus juicer or reamer to get the most juice out of the fruit.

Remember to either line (I like to use silicone liners) or grease using cooking spray the muffins pan so the muffins come out of each cup easily.

  • If you choose to grease the pan using cooking spray, the outside of the muffin will be a darker brown and a little crispier on the outside than using a liner.
Many cranberry orange muffins on metal cooling rack and on a white plate.

Looking for more easy muffin recipes? Here are four more!

A closeup side view of three cranberry orange muffins on top of one another.

Overall, these Cranberry Orange Muffins:

  • Are tasty: Full of the delicious combination of cranberry and orange. The flavour is sweet, citrus-y, and slightly tart. The majority of the cranberry sauce will “melt” into the muffin leaving an even flavour of both star ingredients.
  • Have a soft, fluffy texture that’s easy to eat.
  • Use simple ingredients that are probably in your kitchen pantry or are easy to find at most grocery stores.
  • Are easy to put together: It takes about 15 minutes to prepare these muffins before baking them until they are done.
  • Are a great way to use up leftover cranberry sauce.
  • Are perfect to have for breakfast, as a snack, or dessert. It tastes great for days and is fantastic to have with coffee, tea, or with milk.
  • Are so shareable and portable: Great for sharing with friends and family during the winter holidays!
Cranberry Orange Muffins on a cooling rack and white plate. A hand placing another muffin on top of two other muffins.

I hope you try this recipe! If you do, please leave me a rating and comment down below or tag me on any of my social media. I’m @yay_for_food on Instagram. Please share your recipe pictures!

Easy Cranberry Orange Muffins

Easy Cranberry Orange Muffins

Yield: 18-20 muffins
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Perfect for sharing, this quick and easy muffin recipe features the classic combination of cranberry and orange. A soft, fluffy, and delicious treat for the holidays.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ¼ cup (2 oz) unsalted butter, soften
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup fresh orange juice (about 2-3 large navel oranges)
  • 2 navel orange zest, divided
  • 1 cup (10 oz) whole berry cranberry sauce (I used canned)

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with baking cups (I like silicone liners) or grease with cooking spray.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
  3. Cream the butter and sugar together using a stand mixer (or electric mixer) at medium speed until fluffy in appearance. Then mix in the eggs and vanilla extract until combined. Add in orange juice and half of the orange zest until combined *(see first note).
  4. Slowly add in the flour mixture, starting at low speed and gradually increasing to medium-high speed, until all the ingredients are well combined.
  5. Add in the cranberry sauce and slowly mix together until distributed throughout the batter.
  6. Scoop the batter into each muffin pan cup until the cup is ¾ full. Sprinkle with the remaining orange zest on top.
  7. Bake for 20-24 minutes, until a wooden skewer (or cake tester) comes out clean in the center. Let cool slightly before eating.

Notes

  • *You may need to scrape down the sides using a silicone spatula or scraper to make sure all the ingredients are incorporated together.
  • To store muffins up to 2-4 days: Completely cool the muffins, line an airtight storage container or a large ziploc bag with a paper towel, place the muffins in a single layer, and then top with another paper towel before sealing. Store the bag at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
  • To store muffins for longer than 4 days: Completely cool the muffins, wrap each muffin with plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and store in a freezer bag before freezing. Thaw at room temperature or reheat in a microwave before eating.
  • Nutritional information represents one muffin for a total of 20 muffins.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 20 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 109Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 21mgSodium: 172mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 1gSugar: 10gProtein: 3g

Sharing is caring!

Amanda

Saturday 15th of December 2018

Love the combination or cranberry and orange. So perfect for Christmas!

Marie | Yay! For Food

Saturday 15th of December 2018

Definitely! Thanks Amanda.

claudia

Saturday 15th of December 2018

I cant think of a better combination of flavors for the holiday and Christmas morning to start the day. Excellant !

Marie | Yay! For Food

Saturday 15th of December 2018

Thank you Claudia!

kelly anthony

Saturday 15th of December 2018

These cranberry orange muffins look so delicious. I can't wait to make these for my family!

Marie | Yay! For Food

Saturday 15th of December 2018

Enjoy!

kim

Saturday 15th of December 2018

Love this flavor combo! These are so easy and delicious!

Marie | Yay! For Food

Saturday 15th of December 2018

Thank you Kim!

Adrianne

Saturday 15th of December 2018

Oh wow! The photos in this post are exactly what I need to see the steps involved. Thanks for sharing them. These muffins look fabulous and I can't wait to try them. Cheers

Marie | Yay! For Food

Saturday 15th of December 2018

Thank you Adrianne! Cheers!

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