These light and buttery cranberry and orange muffins are a delicious autumn/winter flavour combination and they are all made in one bowl! 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.
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 to these cranberry muffins 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. Cranberries and orange just scream Christmas to us and these orange cranberry muffins are one of the first things we bake when the festive season comes round.
Looking for some other festive recipes? Why not try our easy Merry Mix, fudgy Christmas Tree Brownies, delicious Christmas Cheesecake or our simple Christmas Popcorn?
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Ingredients and Substitutions
A full ingredients list, along with US Customary and Metric measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Plain flour (all purpose flour) - We have tried making this cranberry orange muffin recipe 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 cranberry muffin 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 yogurt.
- Vanilla - Use extract instead of essence, as you will have much more of a natural flavour.
- 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.
Variations
One of our favourite ways to adapt these muffins with cranberries, and to take them to the next level, 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 make a Greek yogurt frosting this way, for something a bit lighter.
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.
How to Make Cranberry Orange Muffins - Step by step
Prep: Preheat your oven to 200°C/180°C(fan)/400°F/Gas 6. Grease a 12 hole muffin tin.
- Step 1: In your stand mixer, or a large mixing bowl, mix the butter and sugar together until creamy and well combined.
- Step 2: Add the yogurt, eggs and vanilla and combine.
- Step 3: Add the orange zest, orange juice and milk and mix gently.
- Step 4: In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt.
- Step 5: Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well.
- Step 6: Add the cranberries and dark chocolate chips and mix well.
- Step 7: Divide the batter between the muffin pan and put in the oven for 30 minutes.
- Step 8: Once cooked, allow to cool on a wire rack.
Serving Suggestion
Any of the following drinks will go perfectly with one of these cranberry muffins:
- Cinnamon Mocha
- Healthy Pumpkin Spiced Latte
- Mocha Frappuccino
- Healthy Peppermint Hot Chocolate
- Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate
Extra Tips
- You could use fresh cranberries instead of dried, but it might change the texture a little.
- Don't over-mix your muffins, otherwise you will end up with dense and heavy muffins.
- 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.
- Sprinkle a few extra cranberries to the top of the muffins to make them look more presentable.
- To make these gluten free, you could use almond flour, however it would make them a little dry.
Frequently Asked Questions
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 into the batter when they are still frozen. If they defrost first, they can become very watery.
You can store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
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, put them into a freezer-safe container 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.
More Muffin Recipes
If you’ve tried this orange muffin recipe, then let us know how you got on in the comments below.
Tag us in your creations on Instagram @hungryhealthyhappy - You can use the hashtag #hungryhealthyhappy too.
Recipe
Cranberry Orange Muffins
Ingredients
- 220 g (1.75 cups) Plain flour
- 115 g (4 oz) Butter
- 120 g (0.66 cups) Granulated sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 120 g (0.66 cups) 0% Fat Free Greek yogurt
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 0.5 teaspoon Sea 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 (0.75 cups) Dried cranberries
- 50 g (0.25 cups) Dark chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200°C/180°C(fan)/400°F/Gas 6. Grease a 12 hole muffin tin.
- In a stand mixer, or a large bowl, cream 115 g Butter and 120 g Granulated sugar together until creamy and well mixed.
- Add 120 g 0% Fat Free Greek yogurt, 2 Eggs and 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract and combine.
- Add the zest and juice of 1 Orange and 3 tablespoon Almond milk. Mix gently.
- In a separate bowl, mix together 220 g Plain flour, 1 teaspoon Baking powder, 1 teaspoon Baking soda, 0.5 teaspoon Cinnamon, 0.5 teaspoon Ground ginger and 0.5 teaspoon Sea salt.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix well.
- Add 100 g Dried cranberries and 50 g Dark chocolate chips and mix well.
- Divide the batter between the muffin tin and put in the oven for 30 minutes.
Recipe Tips
- You could use fresh cranberries instead of dried, but it might change the texture a little.
- Don't over-mix your muffins, otherwise you will end up with dense and heavy muffins.
- Don't open the oven when cooking the muffins, as they might deflate.
- 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.
- Add a few extra cranberries to the top of the muffins to make them look more presentable.
- To make these gluten free, you could use almond flour, however it would make them a little dry.
Nutritional Information
The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
As all appliances vary, cooking times are a guide. Please note that by changing the serving size, the cooking time may also need to be altered.
Kelley @ Chef Savvy says
I love muffins and these look amazing. I love the flavors of cranberry and orange in these muffins. Perfect holiday breakfast!
Helen Turney says
I bet the cinnamon and ginger make them taste very Christmasy.
Melanie says
I made some of these this morning. SO good. I was worried that they wouldn't be sweet enough, but they definitely were. Thanks for the recipe Dannii.
Mira says
I love the cranberry and orange combination Dannii! These look so delicious! Greek yogurt in muffins makes them fluffy and helps them rise really nice while baking!
Courtney Violet Bentley says
Yum I love a good loaf! Thank you for sharing xo C
Amy (Savory Moments) says
Orange + cranberry is a perfect holiday flavor combination and these muffins look great for a quick Christmas breakfast.
Fiona says
I made a cranberry and orange loaf at the weekend, but making them in muffins is a good idea too.
Judy says
I like how low in calories these are. Usually muffins are well into 300 calories and don't taste that good anyway. Looking forward to making these.
Millie says
Any tips for making this gluten free? Thank you :)
Dannii says
You could use almond flour, but it might make them a little dry.
Rebecca Ander says
How long would these stay fresh for?
Cassey says
These look really good. I never thought about having muffins on Christmas morning.
Amrita @ MyWifeMakes.com says
Oh I would love to make these and freeze them for a quick brekkie in the morning! I love anything orange/cranberry. I'd imagine they'd go perfect with some White Chocolate Chunks as well. Yum!
Maria @ runningcupcake says
I like cranberries but I would have thought using fresh ones would make them extremely sour! I know that Sainsbury's stocked frozen cranberries, but they were unsweetened so I would use them for sauce but probably not in baking.
I found a good recipe for cinnamon rolls- you leave the dough overnight in the fridge so I would make it on Christmas eve and then bake them in the morning for a lovely treat.
Michele @ Two Raspberries says
PERFECT breakfast! must have some of these ASAP!
Stacey @ Bake.Eat.Repeat. says
Cranberry and orange is such a good combination. These muffins look delicious Dannii!