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Cranberry Orange Muffins (Bakery-Style)
5 from 162 votes

Cranberry Orange Muffins (Bakery-Style)

Cranberry Orange Muffins combine tart fresh or frozen cranberries with bright orange zest and juice in a spiced batter featuring cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom. These bakery-style muffins have a tender crumb enriched by butter, sour cream, and sugar, delivering balanced sweetness and festive flavors. An optional orange glaze adds extra sweetness and citrus aroma.

Prep Time
15 mins
Cook Time
27 mins
Additional Time
15 mins
Total Time
57 mins
Servings: 12 Muffins
Course: Breakfast, Snacks
Cuisine: American, Australian

Ingredients

For the Cranberry Orange Muffins:
  • 3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon (14g) baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 3/4 cup (170g) butter room temperature, unsalted
  • 1 cup (199g) granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup (71g) light brown sugar packed
  • 1 Tablespoon orange zest finely grated
  • 3 large egg room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract pure
  • 1/2 teaspoon orange extract optional
  • 1 cup (227g) sour cream room temperature, full-fat
  • 1/3 cup (76ml) orange juice
  • 2 cups cranberries fresh or frozen; if using frozen, do NOT thaw
For the Orange Glaze (Optional):
  • 1 cup confectioners' sugar sifted
  • 1 tablespoon orange juice more if needed, freshly squeezed
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest, finely grated

Instructions

For the Cranberry Orange Muffins:
    Cup of Yum
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F). Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and spray lightly with non-stick baking spray. Set aside until needed. 
  2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom; set aside.
  3. In a separate large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter, sugars, orange zest, vanilla extract, and orange extract. And beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. 
  4. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, and scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.
  5. Turn mixer off and set batter aside for a moment. In a spouted bowl or measuring cup, add the sour cream and orange juice and whisk well to combine. 
  6. With the mixer speed on low, alternate adding the flour mixture and the sour cream mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Be sure not to over mix here. Fold the cranberries into the batter, mixing just until evenly combined.
  7. Divide the batter evenly among prepared muffin tins.
  8. Bake for 25 to 27 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, or with a just a few moist crumbs attached. Cool muffins 10 minutes in the pan before transferring to a cooling rack.
For the Orange Glaze:
  1. In a medium mixing bowl combine the confectioners' sugar, orange juice, and orange zest. Whisk until smooth, adding more orange juice as needed to reach desired consistency. Drizzle over the muffins right before serving.