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Home » Baking » Cranberry Muffins with Orange Glaze

Published: October 15, 2019 Last Modified: October 15, 2019 By Sara 37 Comments

Cranberry Muffins with Orange Glaze

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Cranberry Muffins Recipe | Cranberry Orange Muffins #cranberry #muffins #orange #fall #dessert #dinneratthezoo

These light and tender cranberry muffins are filled with fresh berries and orange zest, then topped with streusel and a simple orange glaze. A delicious treat that’s perfect for breakfast or after school snacks, and also makes a festive holiday dessert.

Muffins are always a hit in my house – some of our favorites include cherry muffins and blueberry muffins. During the winter months I make a ton of these cranberry muffins. They’re the perfect blend of sweet and tart flavors!

Cranberry Muffins Recipe | Cranberry Orange Muffins #cranberry #muffins #orange #fall #dessert #dinneratthezoo Cranberry Muffins Recipe | Cranberry Orange Muffins #cranberry #muffins #orange #fall #dessert #dinneratthezoo

Cranberry muffins topped with streusel and orange glaze.

When fresh cranberries are in season, I bake with them almost every week. I just can’t get enough of that sweet-tart flavor combination. These cranberry muffins taste like they came from a fancy bakery, but they’re actually super easy to make.

How do you make cranberry muffins?

This is a simple muffin batter made with flour, sugar, buttermilk, butter and orange zest. A generous amount of chopped cranberries are stirred into the batter and an easy streusel goes over the top. I top my cranberry muffins with a 4 ingredient streusel that takes about 5 minutes to make. If you’re pressed for time, you can skip the streusel, although I love all the extra flavor and texture it imparts to the muffins. The streusel is what really makes these muffins taste like they came from a bakery! The finishing touch is a drizzle of orange glaze after the muffins have baked and cooled.

Muffin batter with a pile of chopped cranberries on top.

Can you use fresh cranberries in muffins?

You can absolutely use fresh cranberries in muffins! I recommend cutting your berries into smaller pieces, I either halve or slice my cranberries. That way the berries are more evenly distributed throughout the batter and you won’t get a huge bite of tart cranberry, just small amounts interspersed. You can also use frozen cranberries in this recipe with great results.

Muffins topped with streusel ready to go into the oven.

Tips for the perfect muffins

  • No buttermilk on hand? You can make your own for this recipe by combining 1 1/4 cups milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes, then proceed with the recipe as directed.
  • I use a microplane to zest my oranges, it works so much better than a typical box grater.
  • These muffins stay fresh at room temperature for up to 3 days in an airtight container. If you need to store the muffins for a longer period of time, I’d recommend keeping them in the fridge or the freezer. You can microwave refrigerated muffins for about 10-15 seconds to make them taste like they were freshly baked.

Baked cranberry muffins topped with streusel.

Can you freeze cranberry muffins?

Cranberry muffins freeze beautifully, although I’d recommend waiting to add the glaze until the muffins are thawed and ready to serve. You can freeze the muffins after they’ve been glazed, but the glaze can sometimes get watery after it’s been thawed.

A stack of cranberry muffins with one muffin cut in half.

Cranberry muffin variations

There are so many different ways to add new flavors to these muffins, here are a few of my favorites.

  • White Chocolate Chips: Add 1/2 cup white chocolate chips to the batter.
  • Lemon: Swap out the orange zest and orange juice for lemon zest and lemon juice.
  • Apple: Add 1 chopped, peeled apple to the batter.
  • Coconut: Add 1/2 cup flaked coconut to the batter.

A plate of cranberry muffins with one cut in half.

These cranberry muffins are so festive and delicious. They’re perfect for a holiday brunch, or sometimes I even package them up in tins and deliver them to family and friends for an unexpected yet welcome edible gift. Once you try these cranberry muffins, you’ll be as hooked as we are!

More sweet treats

  • Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
  • Peach Crumble Bars
  • Berry Chantilly Cake
  • Lemon Bundt Cake
  • Greek Yogurt Cheesecakes
Baked cranberry muffins topped with streusel.
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5 from 18 votes

Cranberry Muffins with Orange Glaze

These light and tender cranberry muffins are filled with fresh berries and orange zest, then topped with streusel and a simple orange glaze. A delicious treat that's perfect for breakfast or after school snacks, and also makes a festive holiday dessert.
Course Snack
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 17 minutes
Total Time 27 minutes
Servings 12
Calories 303kcal
Author Sara Welch

Ingredients

For the muffins

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
  • 1/4 cup butter melted
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries coarsely chopped
  • cooking spray

For the streusel

  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup butter cold, cut into small pieces

For the glaze

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons orange juice

Instructions

  • For the muffin batter. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Coat a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray.
  • Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, butter, orange zest, vanilla extract and egg.
  • Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in the cranberries.
  • Spoon the batter evenly into the muffin tins.
  • For the streusel. Place the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a bowl. Stir to combine. Add the butter and use two forks or a pastry blender to cut the butter into the flour mixture until a crumbly dough forms.
  • Sprinkle the streusel mixture over the tops of the muffins.
  • Bake the muffins for 16-18 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove muffins from pan; cool on a wire rack.
  • For the glaze. In a small bowl, mix together the powdered sugar and orange juice. Drizzle the glaze over the muffins, then serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 303kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 194mg | Potassium: 126mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 305IU | Vitamin C: 2.5mg | Calcium: 58mg | Iron: 1.3mg
Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @DinnerAtTheZoo or tag #dinneratthezoo!

This post was originally published on November 29, 2018 and was updated on October 15, 2019 with new content.

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Filed Under: Baking, Breakfast, Dessert

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    Comments

    1. Amy Botticello says

      December 5, 2022 at 6:08 pm

      5 stars
      Excellent muffins (even though I left off the streusel and the glaze THIS time). I used some local buttermilk, too, which was nice. Thanks so much!

      Reply
    2. Donna says

      November 13, 2021 at 9:04 pm

      5 stars
      I made these in mini muffin tins to provide snacks at our church coffee bar. They taste great. I am at 8000 ft so they still needed 18 minutes in the oven. My only problem was that they deflated a little. I hear adding an additional egg and increasing the oven temperature sometimes helps with this rising problem when baking at altitude, so I’ll try these ideas next time. I really like the flavor of the fresh cranberries!

      Reply
    3. Donna says

      November 13, 2021 at 8:26 am

      Can you make this recipe in mini muffin size using fresh chopped raw cranberries? With the reduced cooking time that will be needed, I’m concerned the cranberries will be too firm or undercooked.

      Reply
      • Sara says

        November 15, 2021 at 8:56 am

        I think it’s fine if you chop the cranberries first!

        Reply
    4. Heidi says

      August 30, 2021 at 9:20 am

      5 stars
      I only had dried cranberries but it came out so good! I used the orange zest. So moist and perfect texture!

      Reply
    5. Sophia says

      July 26, 2021 at 9:55 am

      5 stars
      I had to use dried cranberries as no fresh ones available and we loved it!

      Reply
    6. Janet says

      June 2, 2021 at 3:56 pm

      How would these be without the streusel topping & just the glaze on top? If I want to use frozen cranberries, should I thaw them first? Thank you!!

      Reply
      • Val says

        July 5, 2021 at 6:29 am

        5 stars
        Can you use dried cranberries? Thx you!

        Reply
    7. Sandra kilpatrick says

      April 4, 2020 at 2:54 pm

      Is this adjusted for Denver altitude?

      Reply
      • Sara says

        April 4, 2020 at 4:12 pm

        It assumes standard altitude!

        Reply
    8. Shirkey says

      February 27, 2020 at 12:16 pm

      The muffins are delicious. I’ve made them twice but the struesel always falls down into the batter. Why? What am I doing wrong?

      Reply
      • Sara says

        February 29, 2020 at 11:25 am

        Did you make any changes at all to the recipe? How thin is the batter? If the streusel is sinking it sounds like your batter may be too thin.

        Reply
    9. Kandi Jackson says

      February 8, 2020 at 1:35 pm

      5 stars
      Awesome! Can’t wait to use some of your suggestions!
      For extra crunch on top use 1/2 brown and have white sugar for the struesel !

      Reply
    10. Debbie Bonin says

      December 5, 2019 at 11:52 am

      I used mixed spice instead of vanilla and added 1/4 cup of orange juice. Then I added 1/4 cup of flour extra. Butterscotch and dark choc mini chips. Just yummy

      Reply
    11. Deb says

      November 2, 2019 at 6:57 pm

      5 stars
      I make these all year long with frozen cranberries! Always yummy!

      Reply
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