These light and buttery cranberry and orange are a delicious autumn/winter flavour combination. Paired with warming spices like cinnamon and ginger, these Cranberry Orange Muffins are a tasty afternoon treat for the cold season and perfect with a cup of coffee.
Blueberry muffins seem to get all the limelight, but we are here to show that cranberry muffins can be just as good - if not better! What could be better than the combination of fruit and chocolate in a muffin?
Sweet dried cranberries with chunks of dark chocolate in a light and fluffy muffin that only take 30 minutes to cook. We added a little bit of orange juice as the citrus just lifts it all and adds some extra natural sweetness of course.
We call these our Christmas muffins, but we would happily eat them all year round. Looking for some other festive recipes? Why not try our Christmas Tree Brownies, Christmas Cheesecake or Christmas Popcorn.
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Why should you try it?
- Full of festive flavour - Cranberries and orange just scream Christmas to us and this is one of the first things we bake when the festive season comes round.
- Easy for kids to help make - Everything is just mixed in to a bowl, making it easy for kids to do. Perfect for some Christmas family baking.
- Just 223 calories a muffin - These are not huge muffins, and more like mini muffins, and just 223 calories a muffin.
- Adaptable - You can easily adapt these muffins by using different dried fruit and chocolate.
What you will need
- All purpose flour - We have tried making these with wholewheat flour, and even a mixture of the two, but they were just too dense for our liking.
- Sugar - we used granulated sugar, although you could use a mixture of brown sugar and granulated for a richer flavour.
- Butter - unsalted butter is best for this recipe.
- Eggs - We used medium eggs in this recipe. If you use large eggs, it will change all the other amounts of ingredients.
- Greek yogurt - Keep these muffins lighter by using a 0% fat Greek yoghurt.
- Vanilla - Use extract instead of essence, as you will have much more of a natural flavour.
- Salt
- Baking powder and soda - These are used to increase the volume and lighten the texture of baked goods
- Cinnamon and ginger - These spices give the muffins a real Christmas feel. Feel free to adapt the amounts to suit your own tastes.
- Orange - We used the juice and the zest for a real burst of orange flavour.
- Milk - We used almond milk, but any milk would work in this recipe.
- Cranberries - We used dried cranberries, as that is all we could find at the time, but fresh cranberries would work in this recipe too.
- Chocolate chips - For an intense chocolate flavour, use dark chocolate chips. Milk or white would work too.
Step by step
One: Preheat your oven to 200°C/390°F/Gas 6. Grease a 12 hole muffin tin.
Two: In your stand mixer, or a large bowl, beat the butter and sweetener together until creamy and well mixed.
Three: Add the yogurt, eggs and vanilla and beat.
Four: Add the orange zest, orange juice and milk and mix gently.
Five: In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt.
Six: (a) Pour the wet ingredients in to the dry ingredients and (b) mix well.
Seven: (a) Add the cranberries and dark chocolate chips and (b) mix well.
Eight: Divide the batter between the muffin tin and put in the oven for 30 minutes.
Health benefits of cranberries
Cranberries are probably most well-known for their association in the management of urinary tract infections (UTIs). Fresh cranberries are very low in sugar, which contributes to their sour taste.
Cranberries are also a good source of vitamin C, E, K1, manganese, and copper.
Variations
One of our favourite ways to adapt these cranberry muffins, and to take them to the next level, it to top them with a cream cheese frosting. We mix together cream cheese, butter and icing sugar with a little vanilla and spread it on top of the muffins. Super indulgent, but delicious.
You could also drizzle some white chocolate on them for something a little indulgent, but with minimal effort.
You can also swap the cranberries for dried blueberries or cherries and use different chocolate chips if you like. Chunks of fudge also work well.
What to serve with Cranberry Orange Muffins
Any of the following drinks will go perfectly with one of these cranberry muffins:
FAQs
Portion control is definitely key when it comes to these muffins. However, there are loads of health benefits of cranberries. They are a good source of vitamin C, E and K1 as well as fibre.
Our toddler LOVED these muffins, but they were a little bit too big for him. Not that he didn't give it a good go! You could easily make mini versions of these in a mini muffin tin so they were more toddler friendly. It would make them perfect for a kids party - something a little different.
Yes, you can use both. If you are using frozen, it is best to stir them in to the batter when they are still frozen. If they defrost first, they can become very watery.
You certainly can and I would highly recommend it as these tasty muffins are seriously moreish. Once a batch of these are out of the oven, it is hard to keep your hands off them.
Once they have cooled down, wrap them individually and then put them in the freezer. You can then take them out one at a time when you want once. Ideal for kids lunch boxes, or relaxing with a cup of coffee before you get the kids from school.
Extra tips
- You could use fresh cranberries instead of dried, but it might change the texture a little.
- When using dried cranberries, it is best to soak them first, as it makes them a little juicier.
- The dark chocolate chips in these muffins do make them sweet, but you could easily leave them out.
- Mix things up a bit and swap the cranberries for dried cherries or sultanas.
- Try using white chocolate chips instead of dark.
- To make these gluten free, you could use almond flour, however it would make them a little dry.
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Recipe
Cranberry Orange Muffins
Ingredients
- 220 g All purpose flour
- 115 g Butter
- 120 g granulated sugar
- 2 Medium eggs
- 120 g 0% Greek yogurt
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 0.5 teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- 0.5 teaspoon Cinnamon
- 0.5 teaspoon Ground ginger
- 1 Orange (zest and juice)
- 3 tablespoon Almond milk (you can use any milk though)
- 100 g Dried cranberries
- 50 g Dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200°C/390°F and grease a 12 hole muffin tin.
- In a stand mixer, or a large bowl, beat the butter and sweetener together until creamy and well mixed.115 g Butter, 120 g granulated sugar
- Add the yoghurt, eggs and vanilla and beat.2 Medium eggs, 120 g 0% Greek yogurt, 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- Add the orange zest, orange juice and milk and mix gently.1 Orange, 3 tablespoon Almond milk
- In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt.220 g All purpose flour, 1 teaspoon Baking powder, 1 teaspoon Baking soda, 0.5 teaspoon Cinnamon, 0.5 teaspoon Ground ginger, 0.5 teaspoon Salt
- Pour the wet ingredients in to the dry ingredients and mix well.
- Add the cranberries and dark chocolate chips and mix well.100 g Dried cranberries, 50 g Dark chocolate chips
- Divide the batter between the muffin tin and put in the oven for 30 minutes.
Notes
- You could use fresh cranberries instead of dried, but it might change the texture a little.
- When using dried cranberries, it is best to soak them first, as it makes them a little juicier.
- The dark chocolate chips in these muffins do make them sweet, but you could easily leave them out.
- Mix things up a bit and swap the cranberries for dried cherries or sultanas.
- Try using white chocolate chips instead of dark.
- To make these gluten free, you could use almond flour, however it would make them a little dry.
Cindy Gordon
Always looking for new recipes to UP our breakfast game. These muffins look great!
Lauren Vavala @ DeliciousLittleBites
I haven't had a good cranberry orange muffin in way too long! Craving them even more now!!