Cranberry Orange Muffins
Cranberry orange muffins are perfect for the holidays! Sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and drizzled with sweet orange glaze, these muffins taste like Christmas! Recipe yields 12 bakery-style muffins.
Like me, you’ll be tempted to inhale one steaming hot from the oven. Singed fingertips are a small price to pay for utter breakfast bliss, especially when drizzled with orange butter glaze!
Pro tip: As a timesaver, prep the dry ingredients the night before and Christmas breakfast will be ready in less than 20 minutes.
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Perfect Cranberry Orange Muffins
- Use fresh orange zest and juice in this recipe for maximum citrus flavor.
- Place dried cranberries in a bowl and add very warm water. Let stand while making the muffin batter to plump up and rehydrate the dried fruit.
- Spray a cookie scoop with nonstick spray and use the scoop to evenly portion out the muffin batter. Fill each baking cup 2/3 full of batter, and sprinkle evenly with cinnamon-sugar.
- For bakery-style muffins with perfectly domed tops, start out baking at 425°F for a quick burst of heat (this helps give the muffins a nice lift!). Without opening the oven, reduce the temperature to 350°F and bake another 8 to 10 minutes, until tops are set and a tester comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached.
- Cool muffins for 5 minutes in pan before cooling completely on a wire rack.
- To make the orange glaze, whisk together melted butter, salt, fresh orange zest, orange juice, and powdered sugar in a small bowl until smooth.
- Once the muffins are fully cooled, drizzle with orange glaze and enjoy!
Prefer scones? Try my cranberry orange cream scones!
Cranberry Orange Muffins
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 14 minutes
- Total Time: 34 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
The BEST cranberry orange muffins drizzled with orange butter glaze! Bakery-style cranberry orange muffins sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and drizzled with orange glaze are perfect for the holidays!
Ingredients
Muffins
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1 Tbsp very warm water
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- pinch of cloves
- 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp fresh orange zest
Topping
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
Glaze
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- pinch of salt
- 2 tsp fresh orange zest
- 2 Tbsp fresh orange juice
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F and line a 12-cup standard muffin pan with baking cups; spray baking cups lightly with cooking spray.
- Combined dried cranberries and warm water in a small bowl; let stand until needed.
- Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the mixture. Combine buttermilk, yogurt, melted butter, egg, vanilla, and orange zest in a medium bowl; add to flour mixture and fold in until almost incorporated; fold in dried cranberries.
- Fill each baking cup 2/3 full of batter. Combine sugar and cinnamon, and sprinkle evenly over muffins.
- Place muffin pan in the oven and bake for 5 minutes at 425°F. Reduce temperature to 350°F and continue baking 8 to 9 minutes (for a total baking time of 13 to 14 minutes), until muffins are golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached. Let muffins cool in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes before removing from pan to cool.
- For the glaze, whisk together melted butter, salt, orange zest, orange juice, and powdered sugar in a small bowl. Drizzle glaze over muffins and and let set before serving.
- Store leftover muffins at room temperature overnight, or tightly covered in the refrigerator up to 3 days (rewarm before serving).
Notes
The equipment section above contains affiliate links to products I use and love!
Keywords: Cranberry, Orange, Muffins, Breakfast
More cranberry orange recipes you’ll love:
Cranberry Orange Cream Scones
Cranberry Orange Shortbread Cookies
Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy.
My coworkers and family all loved these muffins!
★★★★★
Thank you so much, Bonnie! So glad you tried this recipe! 🙂
Laura,
I would prefer to use freeze or frozen cranberries versus dry. If I do use frozen cranberries how many cups should I use? About 1 1/4 cups? Does the sugar amount remain the same if using fresh/frozen cranberries?
Thanks so much.
Hi Lisa, I’d use 1 cup of frozen cranberries (fold them in frozen, without thawing). Since they are more tart, I would increase the sugar to 1 cup. Your baking time will be a bit longer too, from the extra moisture. Hope that helps! 🙂
Thanks Laura. That information does help and I will makes some of these muffins this week.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Lisa
Beautiful! Merry Christmas!!!
★★★★★
How festive! What a perfect Christmas breakfast!
Beautiful Christmas muffins, styling and photography, Laura! I love the cranberry and orange combination in any quick bread. I hope you had a Merry Christmas. 🙂 Best wishes to you and your family for a healthy, happy and prosperous New Year! xo
I want that cranberry and orange cloud wafting into my home! So holiday-y…you know what I mean! Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas! These muffins look wonderful 🙂
Lovely Laura and so perfect for Christmas morning. Have a wonderful Christmas!
I’d get up at the crack of dawn for these Laura! And I love that baking tray too! 😀
Merry Christmas, Laura!! I love these muffins. They could not be more perfect for Christmas morning! Have a very merry christmas!
What a perfect muffin recipe to wake up to on Christmas morning! Love the flavors. Merry Christmas, friend! xo
Delicious photos!! The muffins look ambrosial.
Happy Christmas to you, too! xoxo
Delicious with an amazing pictures! Merry Christmas, Laura!!!!
What a perfect treat to have on Christmas morning! Love the photos!!! Happy Holidays!
Sweet and spicy, how delicious. Seasons eatings to you and yours lovely Laura.
Merry Christmas, Laura!! These muffins look and sound like absolute heaven — could not be more perfect for the holidays. Thank you so much for sharing 🙂 happy holidays!
I can almost smell them Laura! You pictures and description are that great. How wonderful to wake up to that aroma on Christmas morning!
Oh, yeah! These must smell like Christmas! And I love the early prep tip. Merry, merry Christmas, Laura!!!
What a lavish way to begin Christmas! And the plan to prep the night before is perfect. There is no reason the cook has to miss out on the holiday action. Merry Christmas Laura!