Start your morning off this holiday season with this festive cranberry orange muffin made with fresh cranberries.
As I have shared before muffins are my go to breakfast, especially when I have to drive to the hospital for work. I have always shied away from cranberry muffins. I think cranberries are rather tart and bitter. I found through researching possible uses of cranberries that many recipes for baked goods use oranges to counteract the tartness of the cranberries.
One of my favorite kitchen tools is my zester. The smell of citrus zest is so awakening. My kitchen was filled with such a wonderful fresh small when I zested the orange for this recipe. I have used lemon zest a lot in other recipes, but never orange zest. I didn't know what I was missing.
You can use either fresh cranberries or frozen. I had both on hand but decided on frozen because I felt that they may keep some of their shape through the baking process, compared to the fresh. I also didn't have to worry about crushing the berries while mixing the batter.
The cranberry and orange flavors together are fresh and really help to wake you up in the morning. It's just a refreshing combination. I think they help put a zing in my step as I run out the door in the morning![Tweet "The cranberry and orange flavors together are fresh and really help to wake you up in the morning. #holiday #nourishedsimply"]
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Recipe
Cranberry Orange Muffin
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 4 tablespoons butter melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup milk
- Juice of 2 oranges
- Zest of 1 orange
- 2 cups cranberries fresh or frozen
- ¾ cup walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Combine dry ingredients: flours, salt, baking powder, in a medium bowl.
- In a separate bowl combine sugars, butter, vanilla, milk, orange zest and orange juice.
- Stir together wet ingredients until combined.
- Slowly add the egg to the wet ingredients.
- Add walnuts and cranberries to dry ingredients, stir to coat.
- Slowly add the wet ingredients into the dry just stirring until combined.
- Spoon mixture into a prepared muffin pan.
- Bake 25 minutes or until a testing stick come out clean from the center of a muffin.
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
I love orange cranberry together! That sweet tartness is perfect!
Tricia says
These look really tasty! I'll be pinning so I can give them a try. I like the idea of muffins in the morning.
Gina B says
Oh THIS is one of my FAVORITE flavor combinations!! I have tried doing it with fresh orange but I've failed to get enough flavor in, so this really helps!
Elizabeth @ Enjoy Every Bite says
These look delicious! I love cranberry and orange together! And your pictures are beautiful!
Sonali- The Foodie Physician says
These look so delicious! I love experimenting with different types of muffins, especially since my 18 month old daughter tends to eat them up.
Connie says
This looks really good! I have two questions:
* Would this work using an all purpose gluten-free four blend in like amounts?
* Since oranges vary widely in juice content, how much OJ would you recommend.
Many thanks!
Jennifer Lynn-Pullman says
Hi Connie! To answer your questions I would say to use about 1/2 cup of orange juice. As far as the gluten-free blend I would assume the amounts would be the same. I don't use gluten-free products, so have not experience with them.