Festive cranberry orange muffins function cranberries, recent orange juice, and a contact of orange zest. An orange glaze provides much more orange taste! I really like utilizing recent cranberries after they’re simply obtainable on the grocery retailer. However frozen cranberries can work after they’re not in season.
Finest Cranberry Orange Muffins Recipe
I’ve stated it earlier than and I’ll say it once more: cranberries are the underdog of the vacation season! However not in our home – and positively not on this web site! This yr we’re baking cranberry orange scones, cranberry hand pies, cranberry crumb bars… and cranberry orange muffins!!! Right here’s why these are one of the best:
- Orange zest, orange juice, and an orange glaze = tons of orange taste.
- You may make these muffins with recent cranberries or frozen cranberries.
- Tremendous moist, the muffin tops stand up over the muffin pan, creating an enormous muffin high!
- The proper festive deal with for breakfast or brunch! They mainly fly out of the muffin tin.
- Freezer pleasant, these cranberry orange muffins will hold saved within the freezer for two months.
Bakery-Fashion Cranberry Orange Muffins: Components
- All-Function Flour: I don’t counsel utilizing every other number of flour. However some readers have reported good outcomes with a 1 for 1 GF flour substitute. For greatest outcomes, weigh your flour as a substitute of utilizing a measuring cup.
- Baking Powder: Be sure you use baking powder, not baking soda, and that it’s recent. Baking soda will trigger the muffins to unfold, which isn’t what we would like. Baking powder will raise the muffins, giving them that coveted muffin high.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness in these muffins whereas enhancing the orange taste and spices.
- Spices: A contact of nutmeg, cardamon, and cinnamon add nice taste to those cranberry orange muffins.
- Butter: Unsalted butter works greatest, however in a pinch you should use salted butter.
- Sugar: The recipe makes use of granulated sugar and brown sugar within the muffin batter. You’ll additionally want confectioners’ sugar for the orange glaze.
- Eggs: Use giant eggs which have come to room temperature. I don’t suggest making this recipe with out eggs.
- Vanilla Extract: Use pure vanilla extract, by no means synthetic vanilla, which tastes terrible.
- Bitter Cream: When you can’t discover bitter cream, full-fat plain Greek yogurt is a good substitution.
- Orange Juice: I want freshly squeezed orange juice as a result of it has nice orange taste. However in a pinch, any orange juice will work.
- Orange Zest: You’ll want a citrus zester to get the finely grated orange zest used on this recipe.
- Cranberries: Extra on this beneath, however you should use recent cranberries or frozen cranberries. You’ll be able to even technically use dried cranberries (though I don’t suggest it).
- Glowing Sugar: It is a completely elective ingredient, but it surely does make the muffins look beautiful. When you divide the batter within the muffin pan, you’ll sprinkle the muffin tops with the sugar, then bake.
How one can Make Cranberry Orange Muffins
- Put together the Muffin Pan: Preheat your oven. Subsequent, line a muffin tin with paper baking cups. Spray the spray the muffin pan and liners with non-stick baking spray. This ensures your muffins will come out of the muffin pan effortlessly.
- Make the Batter: You’ll want an electrical mixer to whip the butter, sugars, and orange zest till gentle and fluffy. Then add the eggs and vanilla extract. You then’ll alternate including in your dry components. Lastly, gently fold within the cranberries.
- Bake the Muffins: Divide the batter evenly among the many ready muffin tin. Sprinkle with glowing sugar then bake in preheated oven. Bake for 25 minutes, or till a toothpick inserted comes out clear.
- Cool the Muffins: Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack for not less than 20 minutes earlier than serving. However I don’t blame you in case you dig proper in and get down on a sizzling muffin.
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Recent Cranberries vs Frozen Cranberries
- Recent cranberries are scrumptious and work nice in baked items! Farmers harvest recent cranberries within the fall, making them seasonal. So that you gained’t be capable of discover recent cranberries year-round.
- Frozen cranberries are simple to search out year-round, however can depart a slight pink coloration in baked items. That is the one drawback to utilizing them over recent cranberries.
- When you use frozen cranberries, don’t thaw them first. Add them to the batter frozen. It will assist stop “coloration streaking”.
Can I Use Dried Cranberries?
Technically talking, sure, you should use dried cranberries. Nonetheless, in case you learn the remark part, you may even see I don’t counsel it. Right here’s why:
- Dried cranberries typically have added sugar, which covers the cranberry style.
- Dried cranberries gained’t provide the giant juicy pockets of cranberries you see in my pictures.
- Dried cranberries add a chewy texture the muffins, which I don’t discover interesting.
So, You continue to wish to use Dried Cranberries?
- I counsel rehydrating them first. Place them in water or orange juice (for additional orange taste). Allow them to soak for an hour then drain them earlier than including them to the batter; this may plump them up.
- Use 3/4 cup to 1 cup of dried cranberries. 2 cups of dried cranberries will overwhelm the muffin batter.
How Lengthy do Orange Cranberry Muffins Final?
When you can, eat these cranberry orange muffins on the day they’re bake them! However what you probably have leftovers?
- Leftover cranberry orange muffins will hold, wrapped tightly in saran wrap, and saved at room temperature, for as much as 3 days.
- When you’d prefer to hold them longer, place them in a freezer bag and freeze for as much as 2 months. Thaw in a single day on the counter earlier than use.
- To reheat, you possibly can place them within the microwave or in a toaster oven. They’re additionally scrumptious with a slather of butter and a drizzle of honey!
Get the Finest Orange Taste
You’ll be able to technically use store-bought orange juice… however why would you? You’ll want recent oranges to get the orange zest. So that you would possibly as properly juice these oranges and have freshly squeezed orange juice. It’ll add one of the best orange taste.
For much more orange taste, you possibly can add a small quantity of orange extract. That is an elective ingredient, however will add a punch of orange taste you gained’t get with out it.
