Cranberry Muffins
intro
Fluffy, golden-topped cranberry muffins with bright tart berry bursts, balanced sweet flavor, perfect for cozy breakfasts or holiday spreads.
Ingredients
Steps
Prep oven and muffin tin
Adjust your oven rack to the middle position, then preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F). Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper baking liners, or lightly coat each cup with non-stick cooking spray; set the prepared tin aside.
Whisk dry ingredients
In a large glass mixing bowl, combine 240g all-purpose flour, 150g granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon fine salt, and 1 teaspoon lemon zest. Whisk vigorously for 30 seconds until all ingredients are evenly distributed and no clumps of baking powder remain.
Combine wet ingredients
In a separate medium ceramic bowl, add 2 lightly beaten room-temperature large eggs, 180ml whole milk, 57g cooled melted unsalted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Whisk for 20 seconds until the mixture is smooth, pale yellow, and free of streaks of separated egg.
Fold in cranberries
Pour the entire wet ingredient mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients. Use a silicone spatula to fold gently for only 10-12 strokes, until just combined (small lumps in the batter are normal; do not overmix). Add 170g prepared cranberries, folding 2-3 additional strokes to evenly distribute berries through the thick batter.
Portion batter into tins
Use a 3-tablespoon spring-loaded cookie scoop to divide the batter evenly between the 12 prepared muffin cups, filling each cup exactly 2/3 full to prevent overflow during baking. Sprinkle the top of each batter mound evenly with 1 tablespoon total of coarse sparkling sugar for a crisp, sweet crust.
Bake and cool muffins
Place the filled muffin tin on the middle rack of the preheated 200°C (400°F) oven. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until muffin tops are domed and golden brown, and a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of a middle muffin comes out with 1-2 moist crumbs (no wet batter). Remove from oven, let muffins rest in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Tips
2.If using frozen cranberries, do not thaw them before adding to the batter; thawed berries release excess juice that discolors the batter purple and creates soggy muffin bottoms.
3.To prevent cranberries from sinking to the bottom of muffins during baking, toss them in 1 teaspoon of the measured all-purpose flour before folding them into the batter.
OMG these are SO good! I baked a batch for my kid’s school potluck yesterday and every single muffin was gone before I even made it through the lunch line. I added a tiny bit of orange zest like I do with most cranberry bakes and it paired perfectly. 10/10 will make again for Thanksgiving breakfast!
I’m usually terrible at baking — I always overmix stuff and end up with dense, rock-hard baked goods. But these were actually moist! Followed the recipe exactly, didn’t overstir the batter, and they came out fluffy, tart, perfectly sweet. My wife thought I picked them up from the fancy bakery downtown lmao.
Made these for my Sunday meal prep this week and they’re holding up so well! I keep them in an airtight container on the counter and grab one on my way out the door to work every morning. The tart cranberries are the perfect pick-me-up with my 7am latte. Will definitely be adding this to my regular rotation.
Super easy recipe for a college kid with barely any kitchen supplies! I only had a cheap mixing bowl, a whisk, and a junky old muffin tin from the dollar store and these still turned out amazing. Way cheaper than buying muffins from the campus café every day too.
Took a batch of these on my fall day hike last weekend and they were the perfect trail snack! Not too crumbly, super moist, didn’t get smashed in my pack even after 6 miles of walking. The only thing I changed was swapping half the all-purpose flour for whole wheat to add a little extra fiber, and you couldn’t even tell the difference.
I’ve been making cranberry muffins for my grandkids for over 40 years and I have to say, this recipe is a keeper! The balance of sweet and tart is just right, and the tops get that perfect little crispy sugar crust if you sprinkle a little coarse sugar on before baking. My youngest granddaughter asked for seconds before she even finished her first one.
Really great flavor, love how moist these are! My only issue is that my cranberries all sank to the bottom of the muffins when I baked them — did I do something wrong? I tossed them in flour first like I usually do for berry muffins but they still settled.
Game. Changer. I have three super picky kids who turn their noses up at anything with fruit in it, and they devoured these after soccer practice last night. I didn’t even tell them there were cranberries in them until they each had two, lmao. Even my 13 year old who only eats chips and energy drinks asked if I could make more this weekend.
I made these vegan by swapping the egg for a flax egg and using oat milk instead of regular milk, and they turned out INCREDIBLE. I was worried the swaps would make them dry but they were still so moist and tart, even my non-vegan roommate loved them. Perfect for our fall friend gathering this weekend!
These are so easy to throw together! I had a random bag of cranberries in my fridge that I needed to use up before they went bad, found this recipe, and had warm muffins on the counter in under an hour. The cook time is totally accurate too, which I love because so many recipe sites lie about how long things actually take.
Made these as a little side treat for our weekly Sunday family dinner and everyone raved. I love that the difficulty is actually easy — I’m not a fancy baker by any means, and I didn’t have to run to the store for any weird specialty ingredients. Everything I needed was already in my pantry and fridge. Will be making these all fall and winter long!
I was a little nervous these would be too sweet since a lot of muffin recipes taste like cupcakes to me, but the sweetness level is perfect! The tart cranberries balance out the sugar so well, and the muffins stay moist for days like the recipe says. I brought a half dozen to my neighbor who just had a baby and she texted me asking for the recipe already.