These Orange & Cranberry Muffins are absolutely delicious and your kitchen will smell just wonderful when you bake them

Hand holding a orange and cranberry muffin

These have to be one of the tastiest muffin recipes I have made in some time, they were so good I was taste testing as I photographed!

Orange and cranberry muffins on a red background with orange slices

The flavour combination of Orange and Cranberry is just so lovely, but the lightness of these muffins is where it goes from a good muffin to a great one.

It is such an easy recipe to make, but I have a few tips to make sure that they are a success.

Hand holding half a muffin to see the inside of the orange and cranberry muffin

What I have done with this recipe is to soak the cranberries before I bake with them, this plumps them up and means they are lovely and soft once baked.

You can of course not do this step but it really does make for a lovely outcome.

A cooling rack on a red and blue background showing muffins fresh from the oven

How to freeze muffins?

Muffins are such a great recipe to make when you are in a hurry! They are lovely warm or cold and they are great to freeze. When freezing muffins I like to ideally freeze them in a single layer, this way they do not stick to each other.

Once frozen you can add them to an airtight container or ziplock bag. They will keep for up to 3 months.

The ingredients you will need for this recipe are lovely and easy

Please scroll down for the full printable recipe card below for quantities and method

Plain White Flour
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Salt
Butter
White Sugar
Eggs
Oranges
Vanilla Essence
Milk
Dried Cranberries
Brown Sugar

Because this recipe calls for creaming (whisking or beating) the butter and sugar you will need to use a stand mixer or an electric hand held beater.

But the first step is to soak the cranberries in boiling water for around 20 minutes, I do this then set about preparing the rest of the ingredients, zesting and squeezing the orange and spraying the tin etc so it works out well.

Next you need to combine the dry ingredients, you can sift them, by whisking the baking powder and baking soda through the flour means this incorporates well and is throughout the recipe.

Then using the stand mixer cream together (creaming is beating or whisking) the butter and sugar, then adding the eggs, zest and vanilla until just combined.

Then I add half the flour, orange juice and milk, mix and add the last of these ingredients, to ensure it is fully folded through.

The last step is to drain the cranberries and gently fold these into the muffin mixture. Then spoon the mixture into a prepared muffin tin. I like to use cooking spray in my muffin tins, ensuring every bit of it is coated, including the top.

Then a generous sprinkle of brown sugar and into the preheated oven. These take around 23-25 minutes to bake depending on your oven, they are ready when they spring back to the touch or a knife or skewer comes out clean.

Then leave them to rest for 10 minutes in the tin before placing them on a cooling rack to cool completely before storing them in an airtight container or freezing them

I hope you love this recipe as much as we do!

If you are a fan of muffins I have so many for you to try! Here are just a few

Orange Crunch Muffins

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Vege & Bacon Deluxe Muffins

Onto my recipe for Orange and Cranberry Muffins

Orange Cranberry Muffins

Name: Orange Cranberry Muffins
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 12
Cuisine: New Zealand
Ingredients: 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar, 50 grams; 1 Cup Dried Cranberries, 130 grams; Boiling Water; 2 Cups Plain White Flour, 300 grams; 1 teaspoon Baking Powder; 1 teaspoon Baking Soda; 1 teaspoon Cinnamon Powder; 1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg Powder; 1/4 teaspoon Salt; 115 grams Butter, room temperature; 3/4 Cups Sugar, 150 grams; 2 Eggs, Medium, Size 7; 2 heaped Tablespoons Orange Zest (or zest of 1 orange, minimum of 2 tablespoons); 1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla Essence; 1/3 Cup Orange Juice, fresh from oranges, drained, 80mls; 1/4 Cup Milk, 60mls

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Additional Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Delicious light and fluffy Orange and Cranberry Muffins with a tasty zesty flavour.

Ingredients

1 Cup Dried Cranberries, 130 grams
Boiling Water
2 Cups Plain White Flour, 300 grams
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Cinnamon Powder
1/4 teaspoon Nutmeg Powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt
115 grams Butter, room temperature
3/4 Cups Sugar, 150 grams
2 Eggs, Medium, Size 7
2 heaped Tablespoons Orange Zest (or zest of 1 orange, minimum of 2 tablespoons)
1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla Essence
1/3 Cup Orange Juice, fresh from oranges, drained, 80mls
1/4 Cup Milk, 60mls

Topping

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar, 50 grams

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200C Bake
In a medium bowl add the dried cranberries and cover generously in boiling water and set aside for 20 minutes
Coat a 12 hole muffin pan in cooking spray, or line with paper cases
In a medium bowl combine the sifted flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and whisk together well and set aside.
Finely zest one clean orange to create at least 2 tablespoons of zest, and squeeze the orange for 1/3 of a cup of orange juice, no pips, and set both aside
In a stand mixer or a large bowl with an electric hand held beater add the sugar and room temperature butter and mix for 4 minutes until light and creamy.
Add to this the eggs, orange zest and vanilla essence and beat until combined
Next we are going to add the flour, orange juice and milk in two parts, add half the flour, orange juice and milk and gently stir through, then add the remaining flour, orange juice and milk and stir until only just combined
Finally drain the water from the cranberries using a sieve (discard the water) and add the plumped cranberries to the batter, gently fold this through with a wooden spoon.
Spoon the muffin batter into the prepared muffin tin, until holes are 3/4 full, sprinkle brown sugar generously onto the top of each muffin
Bake in the preheated oven for 22-25 minutes or until they spring back to the touch or a skewer or knife comes out clean.
Remove from the oven to rest for 10 minutes before carefully removing the muffins onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days or can be frozen, see notes.
These can be eaten cold or warm, I do suggest sampling one or two warm from the oven!
Enjoy

Notes

Can I freeze muffins?

Yes absolultely! Muffins are great from the freezer, fresh as the day they were made. The key is to ensure they freeze in a single layer first, you can do this in a large container you are storing them in, or lay them on a tray and freeze. Once frozen transfer to an airtight container (they can now be layered) or a ziplock bag. Freeze for up to 3 months

Can I use fresh or frozen cranberries in these muffins?

Yes, if you can get hold of them definitey use fresh. If using frozen dust them lightly in flour before adding to the batter.

Can I use dried cranberries without soaking them first?

Yes, but I do recommend soaking them as they make them so lovely and plump.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 283Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 48mgSodium: 267mgCarbohydrates: 48gFiber: 2gSugar: 26gProtein: 4g

JustAMumNZ.com, occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although justamumnz.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

I hope you love this tasty zesty muffin recipe. Definitely a hit in our household, be sure to rate it and let me know in the comments below once you make it!

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