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
Cranberry Cake
This easy cranberry cake recipe is a holiday favorite ~ the tartness of fresh cranberries adds a burst of flavor to every bite.
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!
My go to recipe, excellent!!
My family loved these. They weren’t super sweet, which was nice for early in the morning. My kids put orange marmalade on them and they didn’t last till lunch time. (The muffins, not the kids lol) Plus, they were a great way to use up some of the cranberries abandoned in the back of the freezer from the holidays.
Thanks Mel, glad they were a hit. I’m pretty sure I’ve got some old cranberries in my freezer too!
Love, love it
🙂 thanks!!
Everyone liked these! I’ve been asked to share the recipe – can these be made gluten free?
Thanks!!
Yes, just use a good quality gf baking mix.
Great recipe, my 2 year old helped with the easy prep, and the end result wasn’t overly sweet. Win win!
I also found these muffins to be very bland. Is 2 teaspoons of baking powder too much? The muffins look amazing and the texture is perfect. I even added orange zest and the almond extract. Still bland. I’m going to try a glaze as others have suggested.
Loved this receipe! Added a small amount of pecans and some orange zest. Made a powered sugar icing with orange juice. Super easy to make and so 😋
Love the orange glaze Gene!
I like to try new recipes as much as possible but this one is very disappointing. I wanted to use cranberry because I always buy so much for the holidays, this time I used your recipe. There was a lack of flavor which is the big problem. I would not make this again.
I made these Christmas morning for my neighbors. I added orange zest and the sprinkling sugar to the top but they still seemed a bit lack luster. I made an orange glaze and then added that to the top with more sugar sprinkles. I made both regular and jumbo muffins baking at 400 for the first 5 minutes and then reducing heat to 350 gave them more rise. All in all I would say the flavor was ok but not spectacular.
Wow, this is a phenomenal recipe!!! I’ve been dying to try a cranberry muffin recipe to use up leftover frozen cranberries from thanksgiving and I’m so happy I stumbled across this one! I used whole wheat pastry flour instead 1:1, used KAB’s sugar alternative, & melted refined coconut oil. Thinking about adding choc. chips in my next batch! Thank you!!
I love using whole wheat pastry flour, sounds delicious!