Does anyone else ever just get a craving for a really good cranberry orange treat? It’s one of those flavor combinations that are a match made in heaven.
I know how much you all love these outrageously good orange muffins, so I decided to give them a holiday twist by adding fresh cranberries and a dollop of cranberry sauce or jam! These cranberry orange muffins have orange-infused sugar, fresh orange juice, and fresh cranberries baked right inside. I topped them with a crunchy, sweet streusel topping because all bakery style muffins should include a little crumble on top, don’t you think?
Serve them warm over the holidays with a pat of butter if you skip the jam, and watch your loved ones devour.
Ingredients in perfect cranberry orange muffins
These gorgeous muffins are deliciously moist and bake up nice and tall like the ones you get from a bakery! Here’s what you’ll need to make them:
- Flour: we’re using a mix of all-purpose flour and almond flour to get the perfect texture. See below for a gluten-free option!
- Sugar: mix some organic cane sugar with orange zest to create a lovely orange-infused sugar to use in the batter.
- Eggs: you’ll need 2 eggs to help the muffins bake properly.
- Orange: along with the orange zest-infused sugar, we’re adding fresh orange juice to the batter for true orange flavor.
- Yogurt: give the muffins extra moisture with vanilla or plain Greek yogurt. I recommend whole milk or 2%.
- Butter: we’re also adding a little melted butter to keep them moist and give them the perfect crumb.
- Flavor boosters: vanilla extract and almond extract really bring out the fresh-from-the-bakery flavors.
- Baking staples: don’t forget the baking powder, baking soda (yes, both), and salt.
- Mix-ins: you’ll stir fresh cranberries right into the batter. YUM.
- For the topping: the streusel topping is made with all-purpose flour, cinnamon, light brown sugar, and melted butter.
Add an extra special topping
This is optional, but I also like to spoon a little cranberry jam (or leftover cranberry sauce!) on top of each muffin before sprinkling the streusel topping around it and baking the muffins. The jammy bites are SO delicious.
Bakery-style or regular muffins: you decide
- For bakery-style muffins: If you like BIG, bakery-style muffins with those pretty domed tops, follow the recipe as directed and make 12 big muffins. I also included instructions and photos for cutting your parchment paper to create the “bakery” muffin liners if you don’t have those particular liners (AKA “tulip” liners)!
- For regular-sized muffins: If you want smaller, regular-sized muffins, you can simply make 16 muffins instead of 12, and follow the instructions as written. You’ll just bake them for a few less minutes.
Either way, you’ll bake the muffins on a higher heat than normal, then reduce the temperature to get them nice and tall.
How to make bakery-style muffins using parchment paper
- Cut out twelve 6-inch squares of parchment paper.
- Cut about 2 inches deep on each side of the square. (You’ll end up with four cuts on each square.).
- Press the center of each parchment piece to the center of each muffin tin, allowing the edges to naturally fold on top of each other as you see below. Use your fingers or a cup to press the paper down. Don’t worry if the paper rises a bit. It will naturally sink down once you add batter.
Tip for baking with berries
You’ll notice that I have you toss the cranberries in a little flour before mixing them into the batter. This is to prevent them from sinking to the bottom!
Can I use frozen cranberries?
Absolutely, they’ll be perfect and that way you can make these year round even when cranberries aren’t in season.
Can I make them gluten-free or dairy-free?
- To make gluten-free: simply use a 1:1 gluten-free all purpose flour in place of the regular flour. You’ll still need to use almond flour as well!
- To make dairy-free: use dairy-free Greek yogurt and dairy-free/vegan butter.
Freezer-friendly cranberry orange muffins
These orange cranberry muffins are freezer-friendly! Simply wrap muffins individually in freezer-safe bags or store them in a large freezer bag. When you’re ready to enjoy them, reheat for 30-45 seconds in the microwave or simply thaw them at room temperature.
Tools you’ll need
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More muffin recipes you’ll love
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I hope you love these bakery-style cranberry orange muffins! If you make them, be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them. Enjoy, xo!
The
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Tender, bakery-style cranberry orange muffins baked with freshly squeezed orange juice, fresh, tart cranberries, and a lovely streusel topping. These beautiful muffins can easily be made gluten-free, and are perfect for your holiday brunch table!
Ingredients
- For the streusel topping:
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (75g) all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup (53g) packed light brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons (28g) salted butter, melted
- Dry ingredients:
- 1 ¾ cup (210g) all purpose flour (or gluten free 1:1 all purpose flour)
- ½ cup (56g) blanched fine almond flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Wet ingredients:
- 1 cup (200g) organic cane sugar (or granulated sugar)
- Zest from 2 large oranges
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- ½ cup (100g) freshly squeezed orange juice (from about 2 large oranges)
- ⅓ cup (75g) vanilla or plain whole-milk or 2% Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ½ cup (1 stick, 113g) salted butter, melted
- Mix-Ins:
- 1 ½ heaping cups (165g) fresh cranberries
- 2 tablespoons (15g) all purpose flour
- Optional Topping:
- ½ cup cranberry jam or leftover cranberry sauce
Instructions
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Make the streusel topping: In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Add in the melted butter and stir together with a fork until it begins to form into crumbles and resembles pea-sized clumps. You may need to use your hands/fingers to form into nice crumbles. Place in the fridge.
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Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with bakery style- parchment paper liners. To make parchment paper liners for bakery style muffins: cut out twelve 6-inch squares of parchment paper. Cut about 2 inches deep on each side of the square. (You’ll end up with four cuts on each square.). Press the center of each parchment piece to the center of each muffin tin, allowing the edges to naturally fold on top of each other. Use your fingers or a cup to press the paper down. Don’t worry if the paper rises a bit. It will naturally sink down once you add batter.
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Mix together dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
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In a separate large bowl add the sugar and orange zest and use your fingers to rub the orange zest into the sugar for at least 30 seconds to infuse the sugar with orange flavor.
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Mix together wet ingredients: In the same large bowl with the orange zest and sugar, add in eggs, orange juice, yogurt, vanilla extract and almond extract. (Do not mix in the butter yet!) Whisk together until well-combined and smooth.
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Combine: Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix with a wooden spoon until just combined. Stir in the melted butter until well combined. Do not overmix the batter, you just want to stir it until the batter is smooth.
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In a medium bowl, add the cranberries and 2 tablespoons of flour and stir to coat the cranberries. (This is so the cranberries do not fall to the bottom of the muffins when baking!) Gently fold cranberries into the muffin batter.
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Divide batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups. Add about 2 teaspoons of cranberry jam on top of each muffin. Sprinkle the streusel around the jam as best you can so that you can still see the jam coming through.
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Bake for 7 minutes at 425ºF, then turn the oven heat down to 350ºF and bake for 12 to 18 more minutes until a tester comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before enjoying.
Recipe Notes
To make dairy-free: Use dairy-free yogurt and vegan butter.
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
