I do enjoy muffins with fruits and nuts. The Carrot-Oat Spice Muffins I made a couple of weeks ago and several varieties of the banana muffins I’ve shared are my favorite. Cranberries are in season right now and truth be told, I haven’t made many things with cranberries before. I’m quite excited to use them this season, as they have a mouth-puckering tartness about them. Health benefits include:
- Contains moderate levels of vitamin C
- Has dietary fiber
- Also has manganese, an essential dietary mineral
Also, cranberries freeze very well. While they’re in season, buy them at good sale prices and transfer them to airtight freezer bags to store in your freezer (squeeze the air out of the bag before sealing). Label the bag with the date you’ve added them to the freezer and they should keep for about a year. Next spring/summer when you’re wishing cranberries were season, you just have to reach into your freezer and pat yourself on the back that you thought ahead and just saved yourself time and energy looking for fresh ones and avoided spending a fortune on a small bag of unseasonal cranberries.
This recipe is modified from one of my favorite collection of cookbooks by Williams Sonoma. The orange zest and juice help offset the tartness of these beautiful red berries through this quick bread. I’ve added a couple tablespoons of shredded coconut along with sprinkling some raw sugar on the muffin tops for texture and additional slight sweetness to the crowns. I’ve used 1% low-fat milk for this recipe and it turned out well. A tasty sweet-and-tart seasonal, morning treat that’s a perfect pairing with your warm beverage or icy cold glass of milk.
- Used 1% low-fat milk.
- Added 2 tablespoons shredded coconut.
- Increased walnuts to 3/4 cup.
- Sprinkled the tops of each muffin with raw sugar for texture and additional slight sweetness.
- If you have whole wheat flour, substituting one cup of flour for whole wheat flour would be a healthful change.
- Enjoy using cranberries throughout the year? Read my tip above about storing cranberries in the freezer.
source modified from Muffins – The Williams Sonoma Collection
Makes 10 Muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons coconut, shredded
Grated zest of 1 large orange
1 large egg
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup low-fat milk
1/2 cup strained fresh orange juice
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries or frozen, unthawed
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped
Raw sugar for sprinkling on each muffin (optional)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray muffin pan with nonstick spray.
In a medium sized bowl, stir together flour, granulated sugar, brown sguar, baking powder, salt, coconut and zest.
In another bowl, whisk the egg, melted butter, milk, and orange juice until blended. Add the dry ingredients until combined. The batter may be slightly lumpy. Gently fold in the cranberries and nuts until evenly distributed throughout batter. Do not over mix.
Using a large spoon or large size cookie scoop, distribute the batter to 10 muffin wells. Batter should be at muffin well rim. Optional: Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with raw sugar.
Bake 20-25 minutes, or until golden. Insert a toothpick into the middle of a muffin to test it comes out clean. Transfer muffin pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Remove muffins from the pan.
Serve warm or room temperature. Optionally add a dollop of whipped cream or butter to each muffin when serving.
June says
Looks like a great recipe – I’ll be trying it out with my girls soon. But… you list “1/2 strained fresh OJ” – do you mean 1/2 cup, or half an orange?
Thanks!
Cristina - Teenie Cakes says
Hi June: Thanks for catching that…looks like I left out the word “cup” – yes, it’s 1/2 cup strained fresh orange juice.
Mmmm. I may whip up another batch of these this week too! 😉
Pretty. Good. Food. says
Mmmmm, these look delicious! Gorgeous photos too!
marla {family fresh cooking} says
Just submitted these yummy muffins to Stumble! They are so pretty & I will be storing bags and bags of cranberries for the warmer months. Thanks for the tips 🙂 xo
Cristina - Teenie Cakes says
Thanks Marla – you sweetie! I’m going to email you re Stumble…
Elin says
Beautiful cuppies..great combo too…love the orange rinds in the cuppies mmmm can imagine how delightful this cuppies are for afternoon tea with a cup of hot apple tea 🙂
Cristina - Teenie Cakes says
Hi Elin – Thanks for visiting. These would absolutely be perfect with tea, anytime of day! 🙂
bunkycooks says
Yay for muffins this week on the Foodbuzz Top 9! Congrats! 🙂
Cristina - Teenie Cakes says
Thanks Gwen…yeah – it’s been quite muffin centric posts on the Top 9 this last week. I think it’s comfort food for cooler/colder days. 🙂
Monet says
So of course your muffins look beautiful…but what I really loved seeing was that pile of lemon zest! What a beautiful shot. I love making cranberry bread/muffins during the holiday season, but I’ve never thought to add coconut. Just brilliant!
rebecca says
oh these look wonderful great flavors
Angie's Recipes says
I wish I could just grab a few of these gorgeous looking muffins off the screen! They look so pretty.
Jennifurla says
Love these, and Chef Dennis pointed out your notes…I LOVE them too
Cristina - Teenie Cakes says
Thanks Jennifurla – hopefully they’re helpful 🙂
mangiabella says
i love cranberry and orange together!!! I’m a bit of a muffin junkie too, truth be told I do not have much baking experience beyond cookies and muffins…but this winter that’s all about to change, I’m embarking on a baking adventure to get out of my comfort zone in that department and look forward to this delicious journey – beautiful post sweet bella
Cristina - Teenie Cakes says
Hi Mangiabella: Can’t wait to see what baking projects you have in store! 🙂
jana @ cherryteacakes says
mmm. coconut. sounds wonderful!
blackbookkitchendiaries says
beautiful flavors in this pretty muffin! it sounds fantastic 🙂 thank you for sharing.
Lindsey at Burn Me Not says
What a delightful looking muffin! They sound so tasty; I’ll definitely have to try these!
claudia lamascolo says
these look awesome!
claudia lamascolo says
these look awesome1
penny aka jeroxie says
What delightful flavours. wonder if I can replace orange with lemons
Cristina says
These muffins look delicious! I love the combo orange-cranberries, I’ll sure try the recipe at some stage. Thanks for sharing.
Island Vittles says
A wonderful flavour trio…so perfect for a cold winter`s morning! theresa
Kristen says
Cranberry and orange are so good together. I can just imagine what a lovely addition coconut would be.
Magic of Spice says
Such a wonderful flavor pairing…and they look perfect 🙂 Love the bit of raw sugar on top for a bit of added sweetness.
Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking says
Next to blueberry, cranberry-orange muffins are my all time favorite muffin! I love that you added coconut to these – I bet it punches up the citrusy flavor even more! Delicious!
Karen says
I just bought some fresh cranberries and was wondering what to do with them. These muffins look like a winner to me! Really like the coconut with it…they must taste wonderful!
Jennifer @ Jane Deere says
Three of my favorite flavors all wrapped up in 1 muffin…YUM! I’ve got to try these! Great pics too!!
Lisa { AuthenticSuburbanGourmet } says
Was just at Trader Joe’s and saw cranberries – yeah the holidays are almost here. Your muffin is like an invitation to the holiday season. I am really hungry right now and would love one. Nice job!!
Sara says
Yuhuu for cramberries in season! Even more if they end up in muffins. You do indeed always make amazing muffins. I should bookmark all the recipes because I like changing the type I eat every time