Fresh Cranberry Muffins are loaded with tangy pops of cranberry ~ they’re a delicious way to celebrate the unique color and flavor of my favorite winter fruit. This easy one bowl recipe proves that comfort food can definitely be bright and fresh!
Fresh cranberry muffins are a winter holiday tradition
Baking with fresh cranberries is one of the great joys of the fall and winter season for me. I adore them for their super tart, bright flavor, and that color! I use them in everything from smoothies to pork roast.
If you’re a lemon lover, I think you’re bound to be a cranberry lover too, the two fruits share a tart tang like no other. (My mouth waters just looking at that bright pink juice dribbling out of the muffins!)
My basic muffin recipe is no fail and so adaptable
I’ve used this same basic batter for many of my recent muffin recipes on the blog because when something works, I go with it. It’s got a super fluffy texture, rises well, and is very easy to adapt to different flavors and add-ins.
- Pear Muffins with Hazelnut Streusel
- Orange and Cardamom Muffins
- Easy Oat Muffins with Cinnamon Sugar
- Perfect Black Raspberry Muffins
A dusting of sparkling sugar makes these cranberry muffins Christmas morning material
I love my sparkling sugar when I want a little bit of a finishing touch for cakes, muffins, or pies, but I don’t want to fuss with making a separate crumb topping or glaze. It gives a sparkle and crunch to the top of these muffins, and the little extra sweet with the tart berries is perfect.
Sparkling sugar
Sparkling sugar is a decorative sugar that has a large crystal structure. You can add it before baking, or sprinkle it on just as your baked goods come out of the oven. Often I’ll do both 😉
You can use fresh or frozen cranberries for these muffins
Be sure to save some cranberries for these muffins, and when you finally run out of fresh, dig into your frozen stash. When baking with frozen berries it’s best not to thaw them, because they can become watery: I like to use them straight from the freezer instead.
variation suggestions
- add the zest of an orange to the batter – orange and cranberry is an incredible combination!
- add sliced almonds or chopped walnuts for extra flavor and crunch
- use any other kind of berries – fresh or frozen – that you like in place of the cranberries
- add some winter spices like cinnamon and clove
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Fresh Cranberry Muffins
Equipment
- 12 cup muffin pan
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup milk, or half and half
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp almond extract (or substitute vanilla extract)
- 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
- 3 Tbsp sparkling sugar, for topping (optional), Find sparkling sugar online here
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and butter a 12-cup muffin tin, or line with muffin tin liners.
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the vegetable oil, milk, and eggs, and almond extract, and whisk everything together until well blended.
- Add the cranberries and fold to combine.
- Divide the batter into the muffin tins, and top with the sparkling sugar. Bake for about 25 minutes until risen and just starting to turn golden on top.
- Allow to cool in the muffin tins before removing.
Nutrition
The muffin batter is fantastic! I halved the cranberries before adding them to the batter. I used 1 tsp almond extract and 1 tsp vanilla extract. I added about 1/2 c roughly chopped pecans for some crunch. I added regular sugar on top after they baked halfway. Thanks!
Came together easily and they baked well, though I agree that they lack sweetness. I baked a double batch because I had a lot of cranberries, and I added an extra quarter cup sugar based on the comments, but they’re still very tart and could do with a lift. I used vanilla instead of almond as I wanted to make them suitable for a friend with nut allergies, but I think orange would have suited the tartness and subtle sweetness better. I also added a couple of teaspoons of cinnamon, which is a pleasant addition.
I made a couple of substitutions to accommodate allergies, almond for vanilla and soya for milk, I also couldn’t find sparkling sugar so used coarse brown sugar instead.
I would probably make these again, though as one reviewer suggested I might use orange zest, or juice in place of milk, and I would add more warming spices like ginger and cinnamon.
Bloody marvellous- they disappear in seconds. I use egg replacement powder- works brilliantly
Beautiful recipe. Super easy. I would make it again. Only change more sugar. I didn’t have the sparkling sugar on hand so maybe if I did it would have been spot. Absolutely delish. Love the almond extract. Thank you!
Glad you loved them Renee ~ happy holidays!
I just made these and they are amazing! The juxtaposition of the tart cranberries and the sweet almondy dough worked so well. I want to try them again adding orange zest and putting in orange juice in place of milk, but they are delicious as written!
I love the idea of adding some orange zest to this recipe, Jeannette! So glad you loved them.
Not sweet enough. Needed more sugar. I should have chopped up the cranberries because the whole berries were a big bite of sour. They could not be saved.
I like my wine dry and my muffins apparently, semi-sweet. These are semi-dry(in the sweetness sense), and not what I was expecting.
I thought I must have missed the part in your recipe write up where you mention how non-sweet these muffins are but I went back and read it again and nothing was mentioned. My kindergartner is convinced we made corn muffins without corn, since his first bite that’s what he said it tasted like. I was surprised by the relatively small amount of sugar in the batter, especially with a tart fruit like cranberry not offering much natural sugars and sweetness like a blueberry would. I bake often, but I am only occasionally baking muffins and never a cranberry muffin and I didn’t have time to browse recipes and compare ratios like I often do, so that is on me.
I made these as is, just used gluten free cup for cup flour. I never say this (because I don’t like sugary things) but these need some sweetness added. The cranberries are sour and there’s not enough sweetness to balance it.
I think some people are more sensitive to the tartness of cranberries, Keela. Also varieties do vary in their sour quality. Feel free to up the sugar content if you like.
Seeing the comments about the lack of flavor and need for more sugar, I used pumpkin coffee creamer instead of milk and added more sugar. The batter was way too thick to add the cranberries, which I had chopped in half, so I added the juice of half an orange. Also added half a cup of white chocolate chips. The texture of the muffins is great, but the almond extract as directed (a whopping 1.5 tsp) is medicinal / artificial tasting / smelling. I should have gone with my gut and used only a fraction of that (1/4 tsp – 1/2 tsp would have been plenty). I’ll make these again, but definitely reduce the almond extract.
please tell me do I chop the cranberries ??? and I already thawed a bag-shoud I use a bag from the freezer instead??? please tell me
I don’t chop the cranberries. I recommend using frozen berries without thawing.