Orange Cranberry Muffins

These cinnamon-y orange and cranberry muffins are great for breakfast, lunchboxes and parties throughout the festive season.

Course Breakfast, brunch, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword cranberry bread, holiday muffins, orange and cranberry muffins

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 25

Total Time 35

Servings muffins

Calories 222kcal

Author Nicole Shroff

Ingredients

Dry

200 g all purpose flour 1½ cups
150 g white sugar ¾ cup
8 g baking powder 2 teaspoons
1½ g salt ¼ teaspoon
3 g cinnamon ground, 1 teaspoon

Wet

1 large egg or medium, at room temperature*
80 g butter melted, ⅓ cup
80 mls whole milk ⅓ cup
80 g yogurt ⅓ cup
2 g almond extract ½ teaspoon

Berries

150 g cranberries chopped roughly, 1½ cup
80 g walnuts chopped roughly, ½ cup (optional)
4 g orange zest 2 teaspoons

Instructions

Set the oven to 200°C fan/400°F and butter a 12 cup muffin tray or line with muffin liners.
Sieve together 200 g all purpose flour, 3 g cinnamon and 8 g baking powder, then mix in 1½ g salt and 150 g white sugar and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients: 1 large egg, 80 g butter, 80 mls whole milk, 80 g yogurt, 2 g almond extract till mixed.
Pour the wet ingredients plus 150 g cranberries, 80 g walnuts and 4 g orange zest into the dry and mix gently till just combined*.
Spoon the batter into the muffin cups so they are ¾ full, and bake for 20-25 minutes or till a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Notes

Cranberries

fresh cranberries - rinse and drain, and use the recipe as is.
frozen cranberries - use from frozen without thawing, otherwise they give off too much water.
dried cranberries - soak in hot water for 5 minutes, then drain before using.

Taste one or two cranberries to make sure they aren't too sour in which case you might need to add 1 tablespoon more sugar to the batter.

Orange zest

First wash and dry the orange, then taking care not to remove the white soft pith under the skin (as it will give a bitter taste), either:

use a grater/microplane - for shorter strands and therefore the best option.
use a vegetable peeler - to peel away strips of zest, then slice into smaller strands.

Walnuts

Walnuts add an extra layer of flavour and texture but they are entirely optional but you my need to leave them out due to an allergy or in case you have run out. The muffins will still taste great without them.

Use raw walnuts but roasted walnuts will give an even better flavour.

To lightly roast walnuts - place in a single layer on a baking tray and bake at 180℃ fan/350℉ for 5 minutes. Cool before chopping and adding to the batter.

Egg

*medium or large egg - remove from the fridge an hour before using to bring to room temperature.

Tips

Use leftover cranberry sauce to whip up a batch of these yummy muffins, the spices will add great flavour! Use the same quantity as stated in the recipe card below.

Take care not to stir the mixture too much as this will give flat, dense, chewy muffins. Leaving a few lumps and streaks of ingredients are fine.

Storing

Once cooled, these cranberry muffins will last up to 4 days in a sealed box.

To prevent the muffins from becoming soggy, wrap them in a clean tea towel or kitchen paper before placing in the box. Keep the container in a cool area.

These muffins should not be stored in the fridge or wrapped in plastic wrap or they will dry out.

Freeze for up to 3 months in freezer bags lined with kitchen paper then thaw in the fridge or on the kitchen counter overnight.

Nutrition