Fresh cranberry muffins are packed with tart, juicy cranberries and topped with sparkling sugar for a little crunch. This easy one-bowl recipe is one of my favorite ways to bake with fresh cranberries when they hit the stores each fall.
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Baking with fresh cranberries is one of the best parts of fall and winter for me. I adore them for their super tart, bright flavor ~ and that color! I use them in everything from smoothies to pork roast.
➡ One bowl, easy batter, and a light, fluffy texture every time.
➡ Fresh or frozen cranberries both work ~ add frozen berries straight from the freezer.
➡ Bright red cranberries and sparkling sugar make them especially good for Christmas morning or a holiday brunch.
How to bake with fresh cranberries
Rinse + dry
Give fresh cranberries a quick rinse, pick out any soft berries or stems, and dry them well before adding them to the batter.
Use them whole or chopped
Leave them whole for bigger tart, juicy bursts, or roughly chop them for cranberry in every bite.
- Reader note: “I was skeptical about leaving the cranberries whole, but they were delicious.” ~ Linda
Fresh or frozen both work
Add frozen cranberries straight from the freezer ~ no thawing.
Cranberries need enough sugar
They’re much tarter than most berries, so recipes built around them need enough sugar to balance that sharp flavor.
Freeze them right in the bag
Fresh cranberries keep surprisingly well in the fridge, and you can freeze the whole bag for up to a year.
Got an extra bag?
I have plenty more fresh cranberry recipes to help you put it to work.
Almond extract gives my cranberry muffins their distinctive flavor
I love almond with tart cranberries ~ it rounds out their sharpness and gives these muffins a flavor that’s a little unexpected. I use 1 teaspoon here, which is enough to come through without taking over. You can also add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract for a nice variation.
- Reader note: “The almond extract added a complexity that vanilla wouldn’t have.” ~Kevin-Louis
Sparkling sugar is the finishing touch
The big crystals add crunch and a little extra sweetness, which is especially good against the tart cranberries. I sprinkle it on before baking so the tops come out crisp and sparkly. Sometimes I’ll even add a bit extra after they come out. I have used several different brands with success ~ this one is particularly good.
- Reader note: “They had a nice texture and the tartness was balanced by the sparkling sugar on top.” ~ Lisa
Reader tips + takeaways
For a sweeter muffin add more sugar
This is the biggest divide in the comments. Plenty of readers love the tart, not-too-sweet balance exactly as written, while others add another 2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup sugar. Chopping the cranberries also spreads that tartness out into smaller bites.
Jumbo muffins work beautifully
Several readers make these as jumbo muffins, usually getting about 6–8 depending on the pan. Because jumbo tins vary, I’d start checking them at about 25 minutes and go from there.
Chop the cranberries for mini muffins
Roughly chop the cranberries first so you don’t wind up with a whole tart cranberry taking over a tiny muffin. That’s also a good way to get cranberry into every bite.
Gluten-free works
This came up again and again. Readers have had especially good results swapping the all-purpose flour 1:1 with Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur cup-for-cup gluten-free flour.
Orange is the runaway favorite variation
Orange zest shows up all through the comments, along with orange juice in place of some of the milk and even an orange glaze. White chocolate, sliced almonds, walnuts, cinnamon and cardamom also have plenty of fans.
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Fresh Cranberry Muffins
Video
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 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 paper muffin liners.
- Whisk together the 2 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 3/4 cup milk, or half and half, 2 large eggs, and 1 tsp almond extract (or substitute vanilla extract), and whisk everything together until well blended.
- Add the 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries and fold to combine.
- Divide the batter into the muffin tins, and top with the 3 Tbsp sparkling sugar, for topping (optional). Bake for about 25 minutes until risen and just starting to turn golden on top.
- Allow to cool in the muffin tins before removing.
Notes
Nutrition
More fresh cranberry recipes
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Mulled Wine Cranberry Sauce
Red wine and mulling spices balance out the tartness of the cranberries and give the sauce a whole new warmth and depth of flavor. This is the cranberry sauce I’ll be making for the rest of my life!
Cranberry Smoothie
My simple Cranberry Cleanse Smoothie is packed with health benefits and has a fabulous sweet tart flavor!
Vanilla Cranberry Bundt Cake
A soft vanilla Bundt with bursts of tart cranberry and a silky glaze that catches the light ~ simple to make, beautiful to serve, and unmistakably festive.
Cranberry Orange Curd
Cranberry orange curd is like lemon curd, but with blended cranberries standing in for the citrus ~ so good with toast, biscuits and scones!
These were very tasty. I used vanilla extract, and I added white chocolate chips to the batter when I was halfway done pouring them in the muffin pan. I liked it both ways. My kids liked the ones with white chocolate chips.
That sounds really good, white chocolate and cranberry is a great combo 🙂
I decided to try this cranberry recipe for breakfast this morning ! I’m not a great baker at all so I didn’t know if this recipe would even turn out well at all!! I only added a quarter cup of sugar as we do not like sweet and I added olive oil instead of vegetable oil! Also added vanilla and almond extract and the zest of a lemon!! Well, these muffins turned out fabulously! I did bake them for 35 minutes and they weee such a hot with my family I will definitely make them again and soon!! A little bit of whipped butter and these are excellent! Thank you for this recipe – I will, one time add blueberries instead of cranberries- it’s a great, easy recipe for someone who has poor luck with baking a cake!!!
These were great! I always swap out the vegetable oil for my homemade applesauce. Adds a little extra flavor and moistness and bit healthier in my opinion. Will definitely make these again.
Can i use this tecipe to make cranberry bread?
Yes, this batter can be baked in a loaf pan. Loaf pans vary a lot of size and volume, so be sure not to fill it more than 2/3 full.
Hi do you possibly have uk measurements for this recipe
You can toggle metric measurements right across from where it says Ingredients.
Do you have a maple walnut muffin recipe?
Omgosh ~ everything but! (my maple walnut recipes)
Great recipe! I saw some reviews saying it’s a bit too tart for them, and my husband likes slightly sweet muffins so I adjusted it, didn’t want to mess with the batter consistency too much so I chopped the berries in half and then tossed the cranberries in powdered sugar (about 1/2 cup) until they were all coated, then very gently mixed them into the batter. Absolutely perfect! It didn’t mess up the actual muffin consistency and instead just slightly sweetened up the smaller bursts of cranberry. Personally, I think I would’ve liked the muffins just fine as is, but since my husband doesn’t enjoy too much of a tart punch this ended up being a greats adjustment. Next up I wanna try the recipe as is, and adding orange zest and white chocolate chips!
I’m so glad you loved these muffins, and thanks for the tip for sweetening the berries!
I think it needs a lot more sugar–I would recommend at least 1.07 cups of sugar based on my experience–and maybe even more, to balance the sourness of the cranberries.
Can these be frozen? Loved them and would like to make ahead for the holidays
For sure, just cool them really well, double wrap, and freeze!
Crazy easy to make. Taste awesome thanks