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
I liked the recipe it needed a bit more sugar to counteract the tartness of the cranberries though imo.
Do you remove muffins from baking tray before glazing?
I usually do, but you don’t have to.
Pretty good. Don’t really care for the cinnamon. Mine didn’t rise very well, just slightly domed. I used frozen berries and since you aren’t supposed to thaw them I think the batter is maybe too cold to get much spring in 5 minutes? Also made the banana nut and they rose great so that seems like the major difference in the batters( used sour cream since I didn’t have yogurt) . They tasted ok but personally felt the orange and cranberry didn’t need the cinnamon but will add some coarse sugar on top the next time. Didn’t really want icing but they are a little tart without a little sweet topping. Could have been the cranberry were more tart as well but I’ve used the same brand for scones and the scones weren’t too tart.
These were veery good. They took a lot of time though. I had not put out the butter and the eggs the night before so I had to wait until they got to room temperature. It was 90 minutes before they went into the oven. I agree with another person who tried the recipe that 425 degrees was way too hot to begin with. My muffins were too dark on top. Next time I will do 375; hot enough to brown the muffins and correct to 350 when you open the door to put them in. At that point I would turn the temp back down to 350.
I agree with the last commenter regarding changing oven temp. This is true that not every oven can cool quick enough to make this temperature change method work, and I learned it the hard way with another recipe. With this recipe I guessed at 400 and took them out at 15 minutes. They didn’t burn, but they were slightly dry and overbrowned on top. I will try 375 next time, as I really liked the recipe! It would be helpful if bloggers could give a set temperature as an option when recommending the temp change method.
I just made these today, and when my husband came home and opened the door, he sniffed the air just like Hoss Cartwright, and headed straight for the muffins! Boy, were they a hit! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, Sally!
This recipe was amazing. So moist, not dry at all like someone else stated. Its a keeper for sure. I dont think ive ever made a recipe from Sallys that wasnt good!
Hey! I tried the cranberry sauce recipe and it was a HIT. However, our feast was fairly small and I have so much left over. You mentioned in the post about it that I could swirl it into these muffins. Did you mean it as an addition or as a substitute? I hate to waste all that cranberry goodness, and I can’t freeze it for Christmas, because we’re doing Italian for that holiday!
Hi Heather! You can swirl 1/2 cup of the cranberry sauce into this muffin batter (you can skip the whole cranberries). Enjoy!
These muffins turned out great! We are GF so I used King Arthur AP GF flour and instead of orange juice I subbed OJ concentrate (a trick from an old recipe). The yogurt really works to make these moist, even with GF flour. I’ve been searching for a good cranberry orange muffin recipe and this is it! Thank you!
Made these with my 3 1/2 year old. Used fresh cranberries and Balkan style plain yogurt. They were perfect. I think I shaved off 2 minutes of bake time and they are amazing and moist. Top is a bit crunchy, which I like. Great orange flavor likely depends on the oranges, so we lucked out. Thanks!
Can I make these bakery style? I love your muffin recipes. Thinking would love to make large cranberry orange muffins. Enjoy all your recipes.
Hi Debbie, absolutely! You can follow the baking time and directions from jumbo blueberry muffins as a guide.
These cranberry orange muffins were so flavorful and easy to make. Very colorful and moist.
This recipe is awesome and dummy proof. I’m off keto but still gluten free so my baking supplies are random. I used gluten free flour with keto “sugar” and it still turned out great. Thanks!
Nutritional info would be great!
Hi Mary, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
Please tell me nutritional info per muffin
Hi Bonnie, We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
If I am letting the batter rest overnight should I add frozen cranberries at that time or fold them into the batter the next morning when I bake them?
Hi Jane, we actually do not recommend making the batter ahead of time. The baking soda and baking powder are activated once the wet and dry ingredients are combined, so we recommend making the batter right away. You could make the muffins completely in the evening, then reheat in the microwave and top with the glaze in the morning!
Jane – assembling all the ingredients the night before is a huge timesaver when you want fresh-baked goodies for breakfast/brunch.
Can I leave the yogurt out or do I have to subsuit sometning else
Hi Carolyn, we don’t recommend leaving the yogurt out completely, but sour cream would be a great substitute here.
No sour cream either
Made the OC muffins today as I had leftover zest. They were incredibly moist and delicious. I subbed the cranberries with raisins as I didn’t have cranberries. The best ever. Thank you Sally for your delicious recipes.
I have used this recipe multiple times–So good! I like to add walnuts; pecans would probably be good as well. I prefer vanilla icing instead of orange. I made them today and thought, toasted coconut make be a nice addition on top.
Sally–thanks for your recipes! I’ve had success with all of the ones I’ve tried so far
I almost didn’t make this recipe because one of the reviewers said she likes to fill her muffin tins to the top, therefore it only makes 6 muffins – this isn’t true at all. It makes 12 nice size muffins. She must have been using a jumbo muffin pan. Great recipe!
Hi I made the muffins last night,messed up a bit,but still tasted good.I like to make large muffins the recipe made six muffins filled to the top. I cooked them for seven minutes at 4:25 and then 20 minutes at 3:50 but when I inserted thoothpick it was not cooked enough gave it 20 more minutes…..too well done,but still taste good…..do you have some suggested cooking time for this recipe in large muffin tins
Hi Lynne, for jumbo sized muffins, you can follow the baking time and directions from these jumbo blueberry muffins as a guide. Thank you for giving these a try!
I love Sally’s recipes. I live at higher altitude, so I added just 1/2 t. baking soda (instead of 1 t.) and also added 2 t. canola oil to ensure that they’d be moist. Wow, they are great!
Not a fan! These muffins came out very dry, however they were flavorful
Hi Maureen, thank you for giving these muffins a try. Should you decide to try them again, here are a few tips that should help (with any muffin recipe!). Be sure to spoon and level your flour or use a kitchen scale to ensure it is not over measured. Too much flour can significantly dry out the muffins. The muffins may also be slightly over baked if they are coming out too dry. You can try shortening the bake time by a minute or so next time. Thanks again!
Do you think this batter would work for making muffin tops? I’ve seen a couple recipes for muffin tops where the batter is scooped out onto a baking sheet, but it would have to be thick enough not to spread too much and I’m not sure how well they would bake. I know that you can also buy muffin top baking tins but I’m not sure if you would still bake them at the higher temp for 5 minutes or just bake them entirely at 350.
Hi Michelle! We would love to help but have no experience with baking muffin tops – let us know if you give them a try!
The muffins came out nice and moist and puffed up very nicely. The orange flavor was less than I would have liked. I will definitely make these again maybe increase the amount of orange juice and decrease the vanilla.
Do you think these muffins would freeze well?
Absolutely! See recipe notes: Glazed or unglazed muffins freeze well for up to 2 months.
I have found that adding more orange ZEST rather than more juice. It will keep the liquid to dry ratio the same. Plus the zest has more orange flavor than juice.
So amazing!! Everyone loved these. I skipped the icing only because I don’t love super sweet things. Nobody complained. I also have used this same recipe subbing in different berries, they came out just as good. I highly recommend!!
I can’t remember if I’ve already left a review. lol But this is probably my 3rd time making these and the recipe is easy to follow. We love them so much. They are perfect in every way. Thank you!
I have made this recipe twice now and each time doubled the recipe. (Costco bag of cranberries!)
because It seems like too much work for just 12 muffins. Great results both times. I liked the sour cream just a little better than the yogurt. My one change was using undiluted frozen orange juice in both the batter and the icing. Upped the flavor!
Your recipes are consistently great!
What are your recommendations for adding chopped walnuts? I love the whole grain cranberry nut muffins a local grocery makes and would like to make them myself. Thank you!
Hi Virginia, you can definitely add some chopped walnuts to this recipe. Try adding about a 1/2 cup (60g). Hope they turn out well!