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–+ servings

Cranberry Muffins Recipe

Melissa Norris
This easy recipe for healthy cranberry muffins is packed with goodness: fresh cranberries, orange juice, banana, apple sauce, nuts and more!
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 30 Servings
Calories 241 kcal

Equipment

  • Measuring Cups and Spoons
  • Mixing Bowls
  • Electric Mixer
  • Spatula
  • Muffin Tins or Loaf Pans

Ingredients
  

  • 1 cup butter or 3/4 cup coconut oil for dairy free
  • 1 cup sugar or 1 cup erythritol & pinch of stevia for sugar free
  • 4 eggs
  • 3/4 cup orange juice
  • 6 overripe bananas
  • 1 cup applesauce
  • 1 tbsp. vanilla
  • 3 1/2 cups flour
  • 4 tsp. baking powder
  • 2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 cup walnuts
  • 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
  • 1 cup raisins
  • 1 cup dates
  • 1 cup shredded coconut

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350ºF. Cream the butter and sugar together using a stand mixer or hand mixer (or by hand the old fashioned way!) Add eggs, one at a time. Add orange juice, bananas, apple sauce and vanilla. Mix until well combined. Fold in fresh cranberries by hand.
  • In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients together including the nuts, coconut and fruit. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together by hand until just combined.
  • Prepare muffin tins with muffin/cupcake liners and fill liners with batter right to the top.
  • Bake at 350ºF for 20 minutes, let cool and enjoy!

Notes

If you have a little batter left over and want to make a loaf of bread instead of more cupcakes, bake the loaf at 350ºF for 40-45 minutes. Remember to grease and flour your bread pan first!
Tips for the Best Cranberry Muffins:
Detail
 Tip
Use Fresh Cranberries
 Using fresh or frozen cranberries gives your muffins a tart and juicy burst of flavor. To prevent the cranberries from sinking to the bottom of the batter, toss them in flour before adding them to the batter.
Measuring
 Use proper measuring utensils to accurately measure your ingredients, and spoon and level your flour instead of scooping it from the container. Using too much flour is the top reason muffins come out dense.
Mixing
 Bring your wet ingredients to room temperature and mix your wet and dry ingredients separately before mixing them together. Don't use an electric mixer when combining wet and dry ingredients. You could over-develop the gluten, resulting in dense muffins or large holes in the crumb. 
Filling
 Do not overfill your muffin tins. (Refer to the chart below for muffin batter capacities.) Pro-Tip: Use a cookie scoop for ease of filling.
Baking
 Don’t open the oven door, or the muffins may deflate. To check if they are ready, insert a toothpick into the center of one muffin. If it comes out clean with no wet batter, they have finished baking.
Extras
 Press a few extra fresh cranberries on top of the muffins for a prettier presentation. Sprinkle the top with sparkling sugar for an added touch.
Time Saver
 This recipe works with my homemade muffin mix. Just use 4 ½ cups muffin mix in place of the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in this recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 241kcalCarbohydrates: 35gProtein: 4gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 291mgPotassium: 231mgFiber: 2gSugar: 16gVitamin A: 254IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 56mgIron: 1mg
Keyword cranberry muffins, cranberry nut muffins, cranberry orange muffins
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