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Freshly baked cranberry orange muffins with glaze and zest on a cooling rack.
Daniel

Cranberry Orange Muffins

Bright, bakery-style muffins bursting with tart cranberries and fresh orange zest, topped with a simple orange glaze.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Total Time 33 minutes
Servings: 12 muffins
Course: Baked Goods, Breakfast, Brunch
Cuisine: American
Calories: 245
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Muffins
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
  • 0.75 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tbsp fresh orange zest from 1 large orange
  • 0.5 cup unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
  • 0.75 cup whole milk room temperature
  • 2 large eggs room temperature
  • 2 tbsp fresh orange juice from the zested orange
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1.5 cups fresh or frozen cranberries halved if large, do not thaw if frozen
For the Glaze
  • 0.75 cup powdered sugar sifted
  • 1.5 tbsp fresh orange juice plus more as needed

Equipment

  • 12-cup muffin tin
  • Paper muffin liners
  • Microplane or fine grater
  • Wire cooling rack

Method
 

Prep
  1. Preheat oven to 400F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and orange zest until well combined and the zest is evenly distributed.
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk the melted butter, milk, eggs, orange juice, and vanilla until smooth.
  4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Stir with a rubber spatula until just combined and no dry flour remains - do not overmix. The batter will be thick and slightly lumpy. Gently fold in the halved cranberries.
  5. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling each about three-quarters full. Bake for 16-18 minutes until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make and apply glaze
  1. In a small bowl, whisk the powdered sugar and orange juice until smooth and pourable, adding more juice by the teaspoon if needed. Drizzle over cooled muffins and let set for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

For extra-tender muffins, use cake flour in place of all-purpose. Toss halved cranberries with 1 teaspoon of flour before folding in to prevent sinking. These freeze beautifully for up to 2 months - glaze after thawing.