Recipe Details
Community Pick: Cranberry Orange Muffins
Photo by limeandspoontt
Ready In: 20 minutes | Makes: 12 muffins
Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup cranberries
1 large egg
¾ cup orange juice
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
Instructions
Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl
Stir cranberries into the dry mixture to coat evenly
In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, orange juice, vegetable oil, and grated orange rind until fully combined
Pour all wet ingredients into the dry bowl at once
Stir only just enough to moisten the batter (do not overmix)
Spoon batter into greased muffin cups, filling each ¾ full
Sprinkle a light dusting of extra sugar over the top of each muffin
Bake at 400°F (200°C) for 15-20 minutes, until tops are lightly browned and firm to the touch
Community Member Reviews
I made this recipe just last weekend, and I have to say it turned out wonderfully! I’d been searching for a muffin recipe that delivers rich, bold orange flavor balanced by the bright tartness of cranberries, and this delivers exactly that. The texture is perfectly moist, and the flavor balance is spot on. I test dozens of new recipes regularly, and this one is definitely a keeper. I always follow the original recipe the first time I make it, and it was excellent as written, but I’ve made it again with a few small tweaks: I added extra baking powder (following the standard ratio of 1 tsp per cup of flour), swapped oil for unsalted butter, and used dried cranberries rehydrated in ½ cup water and 2 tbsp sugar. Even with those changes, they turned out incredible.
These were such a hit! Like other reviewers suggested, I increased baking powder to two teaspoons and used the full zest of one whole orange. After seeing multiple comments that the original was too tart, I coarsely chopped my cranberries, tossed them in sugar, and let them sit for a couple of minutes before adding to the dry ingredients. That trick worked perfectly — I got that ideal sweet-tart balance that wasn’t overwhelming at all. I will absolutely be making these again in the future.
After reading previous comments saying the muffins turned out dry and overly tart, I decided to swap the cup of fresh cranberries for a cup of canned whole cranberry sauce, and the muffins came out fantastic! They were not dry or too tart at all — they were moist, perfectly sweet without being cloying, and had a wonderful balanced flavor where both orange and cranberry shine through equally. I would definitely make these muffins again, they were such a delicious treat!
Absolutely delicious! I swapped oil for melted butter, chopped my cranberries in my food processor instead of leaving them whole, added a dash of vanilla, and mixed chopped walnuts into half the batter. Perfection.
I’ve made this recipe several times, then recently tried a fun variation. I swapped cranberries for deseeded, peeled lemon fruit (no pith or peel) and topped the baked muffins with Grand Marnier and honey. These are easily the best muffins I’ve ever had, and they look so beautiful. They also work wonderfully with a mix of lime and lemon. Highly recommend trying this twist!
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Popular Community Tweaks
Below are the most common adjustments home bakers have made to this recipe to suit their tastes:
Swap ¼ cup vegetable oil for 1 stick of melted unsalted butter
Chop cranberries lightly, then toss in sugar and let soak to cut excess tartness
Add an extra ½ cup dark brown sugar alongside the ¾ cup white sugar for deeper sweetness
Use 2 teaspoons baking powder instead of 1 teaspoon for a fluffier crumb
Mix half fresh squeezed orange juice with half tangerine juice for extra bright citrus flavor
Add the full zest of one whole orange to the batter
Mix leftover orange juice, extra zest, and powdered sugar to make a simple glaze for muffin tops
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 20 to 23 minutes for more even cooking
Bakers who tried these adjustments report getting consistently moist, flavorful muffins every time.
This is the BEST muffin recipe ever! I make my own small adjustments: I use butter instead of oil, add extra orange juice, cut back a little on sugar, and add extra orange rind to the mix. These are the most moist, fluffy, flavor-packed muffins I’ve ever made. I’ve been using this recipe for years, and it has never failed me. I actually baked a batch last night, and my family ate all 12 in minutes. Amazing recipe, thank you so much for sharing!
I made these the other day with the tweaks other reviewers recommended, and they turned out great! I used 2 teaspoons of baking powder per the common suggestion, soaked cranberries in sugar for a few minutes to cut tartness, used 1.5 teaspoons of orange zest from one medium orange, and squeezed fresh juice from 2.5 medium oranges for my ¾ cup. I didn’t have vegetable oil, so I substituted ½ cup melted unsalted butter, and used 1 cup whole wheat + 1 cup white flour for a healthier twist. My grocery store was out of fresh cranberries, so I used frozen, and my whole family loved them!
I made this with pre-blended King Arthur gluten-free flour to fit my dietary restrictions. For gluten-free flour, I always add an extra 1 teaspoon of baking soda. I was making yogurt that day, so I also added 2 tablespoons of honey and some whey for extra protein to the orange juice mix, and cut the granulated sugar back to ½ cup to account for the honey. I also added ¼ cup coconut flour to the dry ingredients because I love its subtle flavor. The texture of these muffins is amazing! Anyone with celiac disease can pull this off (my batter looked pasty, which is totally normal for gluten-free mixes). I baked mine for closer to 15 minutes at 350°F in a convection oven in Florida in a black nonstick tin, and they came out perfect. Happy muffin baking, fellow gluten-free friends!
What a great base recipe! I always tweak recipes a little to make them healthier, so here’s what I did: I replaced sugar with pure maple syrup, added a second teaspoon of baking powder, used coconut oil instead of vegetable oil, and swapped orange zest for orange oil. They taste just like McDonald’s cranberry orange muffins… they’re so delicious. I used frozen cranberries, and baked at 350°F for 25 minutes because my oven runs hot.
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Recipe Submitted By
I live in rural central Canada. I love hockey, horses, and music, and my favorite cookbook is an old handwritten one that belonged to my grandmother.