Description
These Cranberry Orange Muffins are a delightful combination of tangy fresh cranberries and zesty orange flavor, topped with a buttery cinnamon streusel. Perfectly moist with a tender crumb, they make a delicious breakfast or snack that captures the essence of citrus and berry goodness.
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
- Make the Streusel Topping: In a medium bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, and brown sugar. Add melted butter and mix with a fork until the mixture forms pea-sized crumbles. Use your fingers if needed to get nice crumble consistency. Place the streusel in the fridge until ready to use.
- Prepare Muffin Pan and Preheat Oven: Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with bakery style parchment paper liners by cutting twelve 6-inch squares of parchment, making 2-inch cuts on each side. Press the center of the parchment into each muffin cup, allowing edges to fold naturally, then press down with fingers or a cup.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Set aside.
- Infuse Sugar with Orange Zest: In a large bowl, add sugar and orange zest. Use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar for at least 30 seconds to release and infuse the orange oils.
- Combine Wet Ingredients: To the sugar-orange zest mixture, add eggs, orange juice, Greek yogurt, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Whisk together until smooth and well combined. Do not add melted butter yet.
- Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients: Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir gently with a wooden spoon until just combined. Avoid overmixing. Then stir in the melted butter until well blended and smooth.
- Prepare Cranberries: In a medium bowl, toss fresh cranberries with 2 tablespoons of flour to coat. This prevents cranberries from sinking to the bottom during baking. Gently fold cranberries into the muffin batter.
- Fill Muffin Cups and Add Toppings: Evenly divide batter into the prepared muffin cups. Add about 2 teaspoons of cranberry jam on top of each muffin. then sprinkle streusel topping around the jam, allowing the jam to be visible.
- Bake the Muffins: Bake at 425°F for 7 minutes. Then reduce oven temperature to 350°F (175°C) and bake for an additional 12 to 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow muffins to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before serving.
Notes
- Using fresh cranberries ensures a tart flavor that balances the sweetness; if using frozen, do not thaw before baking.
- Be careful not to overmix the batter to keep muffins tender and moist.
- You can substitute plain yogurt for Greek yogurt but the texture may be slightly different.
- The streusel topping can be made ahead and kept refrigerated to save time.
- Bakery style parchment liners help muffins keep a rustic, professional look but regular liners will work too.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Category: Baking
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
