Muffins make a regular appearance here on Eva Bakes. However, this is only the second time I’ve ever made cranberry orange muffins!
It’s been a while since I last shared some muffin recipes here, so I am back! In my almost 10 years of blogging (WHAT?!), I’ve only made cranberry orange muffins once. Strange, right?
I found this recipe from my friend Ashley’s blog at Baker by Nature and made a few tweaks. First, I swapped out all-purpose flour with whole wheat. Then, I substituted Greek yogurt for the sour cream. Finally, I omitted the fresh cranberries and used dried instead.
Sadly, my muffins came out slightly over baked. I baked them for 25 minutes, but it was probably 5 minutes too long. The bottom of the muffins were almost fully black, and my kitchen smelled like something that burnt. I’ve adjusted the baking time below so this does not happen to you.
Because my muffins were slightly overdone, they were on the dry side. If your muffin batter appears too dry or dense, you can always add in some unsweetened applesauce or milk to balance things out. That’s usually the trick I use when I try a recipe and it doesn’t look right.
Despite the overbaked muffins, they still had great flavor. The next time, I would add in some chocolate chips to balance out the tartness from the cranberries.
Happy eating!
Husband’s rating: 2.5 out of 5
Addie’s rating: 3.5 out of 5
My rating: 3 out of 5
Cranberry orange muffins
Ingredients
Muffins
- 3 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter room temperature
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon orange zest
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 5.3-ounce plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ⅓ cup orange juice
- ½ cup sweetened dried cranberries
Glaze (optional)
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 teaspoons orange juice more or less as needed
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400°F. Generously grease or line two standard muffin pans and set aside (I use silicone muffin pans and do not grease or line them).
- In a large bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cardamom. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl if using a handheld mixer, cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the orange zest and vanilla and mix well.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until well incorporated. Stop the mixer.
- In a measuring cup, mix together the Greek yogurt and orange juice until well blended.
- Turn the mixer to low and alternately add in the dry ingredients and the Greek yogurt/orange juice mixture, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.
- Stop the mixer and fold in the dried cranberries (you can also add in chocolate chips if you like). If the batter appears dry, you can add some unsweetened applesauce, a few teaspoons at a time. The batter should be moist but not too runny.
- Evenly distribute the batter into your prepared pans, filling each well at least ¾ full. Bake in your preheated oven for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow the muffins to cool before adding the glaze.
- To make the glaze, mix the powdered sugar with a few teaspoons of orange juice. If the glaze appears too runny, add more powdered sugar. If it's too thick to pour, add more orange juice. Use a fork, spatula or spoon to drizzle it on top of the cooled muffins.