Tangy-sweet and moist, these cranberry orange muffins are heavy on the flavor and bejeweled with beautiful cranberries in each bite. Enjoy them plain, or spruce them up with a crumb topping and drizzle of orange icing. You can use fresh or frozen cranberries. They’re simple to make, extra buttery, and freeze easily!
I originally published this recipe in 2014 and have since added new photos and more helpful success tips.
Cranberry is an underrated flavor in the fall and winter months. Often overshadowed by pumpkin, apple, and gingerbread, this tart beauty deserves its own spotlight. It is, afterall, perfectly hot pink when baked. 😉
I love cranberry and orange together, and the two lend a POP of vibrant flavor to today’s muffins. I use the same base muffin recipe that I rely on for many other fan-favorite muffin flavors including blueberry muffins, lemon poppy seed muffins, and apple cinnamon muffins.
One reader, Cathy, commented: “The muffins are fantastic! Delicious! Moist! For leftover muffins, we popped them in the microwave for 13 seconds and they were like right out of the oven. Added benefit—the house smells wonderful as they bake. ★★★★★“
Another reader, Terry, commented: “Just absolutely delicious and pretty, too! Love the cake-like texture, but the brightness of the orange and tartness of the cranberry take it over the top! Added a little orange zest to the frosting as well. Thank you for another perfect recipe! ★★★★★“
Here’s Why You’ll Love Today’s Cranberry Orange Muffins
- Bursting with tart and juicy cranberries in each bite
- Can use fresh or frozen cranberries—so convenient
- Loads of orange flavor with a touch of cinnamon spice
- Soft, tender, and cakey
- Top with brown sugar crumb topping or a sprinkling of coarse sparkling sugar
- Finish with sweet orange icing
Use My Base Muffin Recipe
Have you ever tried my go-to muffin recipe? It’s a standard muffin base I use for a variety of flavors, including my popular blueberry muffins. And with a couple simple tweaks, you can go from sunshine-sweet peach streusel muffins to chilly-morning cranberry orange muffins.
The carefully selected ingredients and ratio of wet-to-dry ingredients promises a moist and cake-like muffin that’s still denser than, say, vanilla cupcakes. The batter is thick, so the muffins rise nice and tall.
I developed the recipe back in 2014 and still use it all the time. I heavily depend on it because not only does it produce delicious muffins, it uses basic baking ingredients and holds up well to nearly any add-in. When you have a solid and forgiving baking recipe, the possibilities are endless.
You need a handful of familiar baking ingredients including butter, white granulated and brown sugars, eggs, vanilla, sour cream to add some moisture, milk to thin out the batter, plus flour, leaveners, and salt. A little cinnamon spice adds a seasonal spiced flavor.
Then you’ll load it up with orange zest, a splash of orange juice, and cranberries.
Overview: How to Make Cranberry Orange Muffins
You’ll need a couple mixing bowls and an electric mixer (either a stand mixer or handheld), because we’re creaming the butter and sugar together. (Here’s a quick refresher on how to cream butter and sugar, if you need it.) From there, it’s as easy as combining dry ingredients in one bowl, and wet in another, and then mixing them together and folding in the cranberries.
Expect a thick batter:
Divide the batter among 12 muffin cups, using a standard 12-count muffin pan. You’ll fill them to the very top and, because the batter is so thick, the muffins will rise straight UP instead of straight OUT like mushroom tops.
You can add a sprinkle of coarse sugar or bake them plain. But, to really make the most of these magenta-studded beauties, let’s add a crumb topping.
Crumb Topping
The crumb topping uses some of the SAME ingredients you need in the muffin batter—very convenient! Some crumb toppings require cold butter and a pastry cutter to mix, but we’re using melted butter here, so just use a fork. It’s the same crumb topping I use when making peach streusel muffins and apple cinnamon muffins (the apple has more cinnamon).
My crumb topping advice: do not overmix the crumb ingredients or else you will end up with paste. Keep it crumbly and press the crumbs slightly down into the muffin batter so it will stick.
Orange Icing Is Optional
Orange icing is a lovely finishing touch and adds even more flavor. You need just 2 ingredients: confectioners’ sugar and orange juice. Whisk together and drizzle over your warm muffins. Feel free to skip the icing, and, again, you can skip the crumb topping as well.
Below I have muffins from 2 separate batches: one plain served with homemade cinnamon butter (highly recommend!) and the other with crumb topping + icing.
If you can’t get enough of cranberries for breakfast, try my cranberry Christmas cake next. But don’t limit it just to Christmas… or just to breakfast! And serve this cranberry curd tart for dessert!
More Muffin Recipes
I have dozens of muffin recipes on my site. Here are a few favorites:
Cranberry Orange Muffins
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 23 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12 muffins
- Category: Muffins
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Buttery, tender, and moist, these cranberry orange muffins are topped with a brown sugar crumb and sweet orange glaze. Both toppings are completely optional if you prefer plain cranberry orange muffins. Try them with homemade cinnamon butter!
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
- 1/3 cup (67g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon (15g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter, melted
- 2/3 cup (83g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
Muffins
- 1 and 3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon orange zest (from about 2 oranges)
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120g) plain yogurt or sour cream, at room temperature*
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) fresh orange juice
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) milk (any kind), at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups (185g) fresh or frozen cranberries (do not thaw)
- optional: coarse sparkling sugar, for sprinkling on top (if not using crumb topping)
Orange Icing
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) fresh orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with cupcake liners. Set aside.
- Make the crumb topping: Mix the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter together in a small bowl until combined. Add the flour and use a fork to gently mix until crumbs form. Don’t over-mix into a paste. Just mix until it is crumbly. Place in the refrigerator while you make the muffin batter. Cold crumbs hold shape better when baking.
- Make the muffins: Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. (Here’s a helpful tutorial if you need guidance on how to cream butter and sugar.) Add the orange zest and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the eggs, yogurt/sour cream, and vanilla, and beat for 1 minute, then turn up to high speed until the mixture is combined and mostly creamy. (It’s ok if it appears somewhat curdled.) Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients, orange juice, and milk, and beat until no flour pockets remain. Gently fold in the cranberries. Avoid over-mixing. Batter is thick.
- Spoon the batter into prepared muffin cups, filling them all the way to the top. Spoon crumb topping on each, gently pressing it down so it sticks. If not using crumb topping, sprinkle muffins evenly with coarse sugar.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F; then, without opening the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 16–19 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 21–24 minutes. (Usually closer to 21 minutes if you’re skipping the crumb topping.)
- Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling. Let them cool for at least 15 minutes before icing.
- Make the icing: Whisk the confectioners’ sugar and orange juice together and drizzle over warm or cooled muffins.
- Iced or plain muffins stay fresh covered at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Freeze baked & cooled muffins for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature before enjoying. Warm up in the microwave if desired.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-count Muffin Pan | Cupcake Liners | Citrus Zester | Citrus Juicer | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand Mixer)
- Yogurt: You can use nonfat or low-fat plain yogurt, Greek or regular. You can also use sour cream.
- Milk: You can use any milk, dairy or nondairy. For best taste and texture, I do not recommend nonfat milk.
- Cranberries: If using frozen cranberries, do not thaw.
- For a jumbo muffin pan: 425°F for 5 minutes, then reduce to 350°F for 22–25 minutes, for a total of 27–30 minutes. Makes about 6. For mini muffins: 350°F (whole time) for 12–14 minutes. Makes about 36–40.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Muffin was still very moist the next day. Very flavorful!
I make these today and they can out dry and I feel they lack flavor. I followed everything to the T. The glaze was runny. It had orange flavor and cranberry flavor, but they weren’t very sweet.
I used light brown sugar, maybe I should use dark.
I will try again sometime.
I’ve been baking since I was a young girl (85 years old now) and I must admit these are the most superb muffins I’ve ever made. I did reduce the sugar to a scat 1/3 c otherwise no changes. Delicious! Thank you for a great recipe.
Hi Sally, i tried this recipe and the muffins were SO delicious but unfortunately, they weren’t moist 🙁 I used dried cranberries instead of frozen or fresh. Could that have been the reason why the muffins were dry?
Hi Kaye, I wouldn’t think that the dried cranberries would be the issue. Did you do anything differently or alter any ingredients? Make sure that you are spooning and leveling your flour (not packing it!) and careful not to over-bake the muffins. Reducing the bake time by 1-2 minutes may help for next time.
Made these muffins today and also a 8′ round. I subd the yougart with sour cream and used almond abstract instead of vanilla. They were super moist and delicious
Hello, and thank you – I’m so excited to try this recipe!
We got tons of oranges in our veg box this last week. Do you think I could use all orange juice instead of juice and milk? And could I use melted butter instead of creamed (and increase the baking powder)? I never plan ahead 😉
Hi Alli, You can try using all orange juice. I recommend sticking with soften butter – no melted. I often forget to take out my butter ahead of time so I use my trik to Soften Butter Quickly all the time!
I’ve been making several of your muffins. I want to make orange w/ finely crushed walnuts as I have no cranberries. If I add crushed walnuts (and how much would you recommend I add?) should I reduce the amount of flour? I ask because I’m assuming the cranberries added some moisture/juice to the cupcakes, but w/ only orange and walnuts maybe they will be too dry unless I reduce flour? Thank you so much. I’ve been loving the high-domed muffins from that initial burst of high heat! wonderful.
Hi Nancy! For best results, I recommend replacing the cranberries with 1 cup of chopped walnuts instead of finely crushed walnuts. I haven’t tested this recipe with the addition of finely crushed nuts (similar to a coarser flour consistency) so I can’t give any confident answers.
Can you use dry cranberries with this recipe?
Hi Maria! Absolutely. You can use 1 and 1/2 cups dried cranberries as a substitute for the fresh/frozen cranberries.
Hi! I made these yesterday and my husband loved them. I noticed blue on Some of them this morning…should I have refrigerated them immediately?
Hi Sally,
OMG, These muffins are absolutely the best! No adjustments needed at all. Ive used other recipes, but this one far outweighs the one I used before. So glad I found yours. Do you have a recipe for Banana Nut Muffins?
I’m so happy you enjoyed these, Evelyn! You can try my Whole Wheat Banana Nut Muffins or my Quick and Easy Banana Muffins.
Hi Sally, these are my besties favorite so I made them as a surprise and plan to mail them tomorrow(from VA to FL)… do you think they will stay fresh with the glaze?
While in isolation I bake. Tried these fabulous cranberry orange muffins,used the exact ingredients and absolutely loved them!
Also hope to try more of your recipes
My family loved these muffins (even without the icing – I didn’t have the sugar). We didn’t have fresh cranberries so I cooked the dried cranberries in a 1/4 orange juice for a few minutes to plump them up a bit.
Also due to limited ingredients, only had the rind for one orange but they still loved them!
Rookie mistake. Didn’t read the recipe through first. Left the temp at 425. They were domed shape but still delicious.
Absolutely outstanding! Made my own buttermilk per your instructions, added walnuts cause I love them and followed the rest of the recipe exactly as written. Next week your cranberry bread and my weekly batch of soft sugar cookies for my grands. By the way made the taco chili and we loved it. Thanks for all the great recipes.
Hey, Sally, I was wondering if I could replace the orange zest and juice with lemon zest and juice, is that possible or would that be a bad combination? We’re out of oranges.
Hi Marcela, I haven’t tested these with lemon but you can certainly try. You might also like my Blackberry Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins where you can use a different berry if you wish.
I would love to make this recipe tomorrow but I do not have any oranges at the moment. Can I substitute Orange Extract and/or Orange Juice?
You can skip the orange zest and just use the orange juice called for in the recipe. Feel free to add 1/4 teaspoon of orange extract too, if desired.
This is THE best cranberry-orange muffin recipe ever!! Didn’t change a thing. All was perfect. Taste is phenomenal!!
You can if you’d like! Hope you find some recipes to love on my site. Thank you so much!
OMG! I had one and I’ve been fighting with myself not to have a second… Now, this has nothing to do with the healthy low fat low sugar muffins that I usually make, although I reduced the white sugar by half. Tomorrow I’m trying the lemon poppy seed muffind, and I might try the scones on Sunday. Self isolation is not good for the waist line! ( I used plain greek yogurt, it looked a little funky before I added the flour but the result was great)
Can I substitute oil for the butter? Would it be the same amount? Thanks! Looking forward to Making these
You need the butter to cream with the sugar, so I don’t recommend it. (Unless you use room temperature solid coconut oil.)
Yes they are very easy to make and very delicious.
I fell in love with cranberry orange muffins from Dunkin Donuts, but they rarely have them. Tried this recipe for the first time. AMAZING!!!!! Sorry DD, no more waiting. Thanks.
How long would you wait before glazing? While still warm isn’t exactly clear, and my glaze didn’t set at all. Also I had them glazed and at air tight (mostly) room temp for 36 hours and then transferred to the freezer. Is that alright?
Hi Allyson, I just wait a few minutes after transferring them to a wire rack and then make the glaze and top the muffins. If you wish for your glaze to be thicker you can reduce the amount of orange juice you add to the sugar. And yes, it’s fine to transfer them to the freezer after they had been at room temperature for 36 hours.
I love the everything about this recipe! I’ve started to use different fruits to the batter. I don’t have enough cranberries so today I’m adding blueberries and chopped apple. Maybe throw some chopped pecans in , too. Will dried cherries work?
I’m thrilled you love this recipe so much, Sheila! Yes, I think dried cherries would work too. Enjoy 🙂
Made these muffins for the first time and it will not be the last! My favorite and best muffins ever- I used sour cream this time, may try yogurt next but… enjoyed them so much first time not sure I want to switch it up. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
These are my go to muffins!! My partner and family adore them and I often make them to give them away as gifts on special holidays. They are well rounded, and I love how many cranberries there are…such a nice burst or tartness in each bite! I do add a little extra orange juice just because. This will forever be my favorite muffin recipe.
I am a Grandma now and this is close to my Grandma’s recipe, filled with goodness. She used to make them without the glaze, but my granddaughters love them glazed.
I never change a recipe the first time I make it, and if I do I publish my own recipe.
It is wonderful as is written, my family and I have loved many of your delicious recipes.
In my family, the Children love the mini muffins with the glaze, and adults loved the regular size warm, cut in half, and slathered in butter fresh from the local dairy.
My recommendation to all, try it as written, try many of Sally’s recipes as written, she has captured the essence of old time cooks and bakers, and her creations will not only make savory moments to remember in the future, but will bring back the precious memorable moments of childhood and bring to life the lost recipes of all our great, great ancestors who turn love into each meal.
Amazing recipe! I like to use fresh cranberries if available, otherwise dried is fine too! I like the juicy pop from the fresh berries! I also used the sour cream option and added a splash of orange liquor to the batter. You can also soak the cranberries in orange alcohol of your choice as well! And for the glaze, I used 2 tblsp of fresh orange juice and 1 tblsp of the orange liquor! So delicious! The batter base is fantastic for any kind of muffin!
These are the most amazing muffins I have ever had. I used fresh cranberries pulsed to make smaller pieces because I don’t actually like fruit muffins but I am cranberry/orange obsessed right now. They turned out perfect. Light, fluffy and full of flavor. I have never been disappointed with any recipe from your site. Thank you!
Delicious muffins!! (And no advertisements popping or distractions from reading the blog.) Added one more step by adding a crumb topping: Cut together 3/4 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup butter till mixture resembled pea sized crumbs. As recipe directed, spooned batter into prepared muffin pan, topping the batter with an additional cranberry or two. Then sprinkled crumb mixture on top of dough and baked as directed. Drizzled orange glaze on top of cooled muffins.