Amazing Cranberry Muffins Recipe

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This amazingly delicious cranberry muffins recipe doesn't require a mixer, and the muffins are ready to eat in about 30 minutes.  The fresh cranberries make these cranberry muffins absolutely burst with tart flavor that contrasts perfectly with the sweet, tender muffin.

cranberry muffins in a basket, surrounded by fresh cranberries.

I made these cranberry muffins for my contribution to this month's Taste Creations blog hop.  Be sure to check out the other amazing cranberry recipes from some of my blogger friends (linked at the end of the post).

You could also use dried cranberries if you can't find fresh ones, but I really love the juicy tart punch of flavor you get with fresh cranberries.

Cranberry muffins surrounded by fresh cranberries

I adapted my friend Pia's incredible basic muffin recipe to make these cranberry muffins.  If you'd like more delicious recipes from Pia and other fabulous bakers, join her People who Bake Facebook community.  Every recipe that has been shared in that group has been a winner!

Ingredients for cranberry muffins recipe on a wooden cutting board.

Recipe for Cranberry Muffins:

  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2/3 cup butter, melted
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or just vanilla)
  • large sugar crystals for the tops of the muffins (optional)
  • approximately 1 cup of chopped, fresh cranberries

Cranberry muffin batter before adding in chopped, fresh cranberries.

Combine the wet ingredients.

Mix dry ingredients together and add them to the wet ingredients to create a thick, somewhat lumpy batter.  

Cranberry muffins batter in a clear bowl with a green spatula.

Chop the cranberries and mix them into the batter.  You don't have to chop the cranberries, but cranberries have such an intense, tart flavor, that they can be a little overwhelming when left whole.  I love the balance of flavors I get when I chop the cranberries.  

Cranberry muffins batter scooped into lined muffin tins.

Scoop the muffin batter into a cupcake/muffin tin lined with cupcake liners (or just well-greased).  Sprinkle the tops of the muffin batter with coarse sugar crystals.  This is an entirely optional step, but I love the sparkle of the sugar crystals and the bit of crunch it gives the top of the muffin.

Cranberry muffins batter sprinkled with coarse sugar before baking.

Substitutions for Buttermilk in Muffins

If you don't have any buttermilk on hand when you want to make these muffins, try one of these substitions:

  • Use a cup of milk soured with two teaspoons of vinegar or lemon juice instead of buttermilk.
  • Use plain yogurt in the place of buttermilk.

Baked tin of cranberry muffins surrounded by fresh cranberries.

Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes (I used 325 degrees on my convection oven), until a toothpick comes out of the center of the muffin clean.

Basket full of cranberry muffins, surrounded by fresh cranberries.

These cranberry muffins are absolutely AMAZING just as they are, but Pia had some wonderful suggestions for other delicious variations, too.

Fresh cranberry muffins surrounded by fresh cranberries.

Next time, I'm going to take her suggestion to add some orange zest to the muffins.  If the oranges on the tree in my backyard were ready, I would have already tried it.  Alas, I have to be patient for another two months or so before my oranges are ripe.

Cranberry muffin broken in half, surrounded by fresh cranberries and two other cranberry muffins.

Pia also said she likes to add some cornmeal or almond flour to the muffins.  Can you imagine a sour cherry and almond muffin??  That's going to be my next flavor variation, I can promise you.

Basket full of cranberry muffins.

And I can also promise you that we're going to be eating a lot of these delicious cranberry muffins for the rest of the winter.  The whole family can't get enough of them.

Printable, One Page Recipe for Cranberry Muffins:

Other Cranberry Recipes from the Taste Creations Blog Hop:

Our Good Life: Cranberry Cream Cheese Appetizer Spread

An Italian in my Kitchen: Cranberry Scones

Mom Home Guide: Cranberry Shortbread Cookies

Other Cranberry Recipes You Might Like:

Navigational image leading reader to recipe for cranberry nut quick bread.

Navigational image leading reader to recipe for pumpkin cranberry scones.

Navigational image leading reader to recipe for cranberry pumpkin quick bread.

 
Nicole Wills, creator of Tikkido

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