Dried Cranberry Muffins

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Dried cranberry muffins are a moist and decadent breakfast treat!

Loaded with nutty crunch in both the muffin and streusel topping, cranberry walnut muffins are a filling grab and go meal.

Muffins lined up on a wooden board with text overlay reading: Cranberry Muffins.

Easy to Make

There’s nothing complicated about these muffins making them ideal for making in the morning or the night before.

They come together quickly with basic ingredients.

Nut Choices

I chose walnuts here and included them both in the muffin batter and the streusel topping for extra crunch.

A dried cranberry muffins cut in half on a white plate with more muffins in the background with oranges.

Substitute pecans or any other nut for that matter as desired.

Skipping the nuts altogether is an option if you don’t have any on hand or need to avoid them for other reasons.

Nut Chopping

Do roughly chop the nuts going into the muffin batter. It’s nice to have them in small to medium chunks for texture here.

For the topping, the nuts should be very finely chopped. I use a hand crank nut chopper / grinder for this and it works ideally. A knife will, of course, work just takes more time.

Don’t Skimp on the Orange Zest

The zest is where most of the orange flavor will come from in these muffins. Use the zest of an entire large orange for best results.

Streusel Topping

The topping is optional but a delightful touch.

Dried cranberry muffins lined up on a wooden cutting board with oranges in the background.

Skip it, if you’re not in the mood to make it.

Omit the nuts and just use the flour, sugar, and butter for a delightful streusel topping.

Make double the streusel amount and freeze the extra. This way you can just top muffins easily later.

Freezing Muffins

The baked muffins freeze beautifully. Simply place the baked muffins into an airtight bag or container.

Thaw as needed, use up within 6 months for best flavor (and before freezer burn).

Other Fruit Muffin Recipes

5 cranberry orange muffins on a wooden board with oranges in the background.

Dried Cranberry Muffins

Yield: 16
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Dried cranberries combine with orange juice and walnuts for a flavorful and light muffin sure to start the day off well.

Ingredients

Muffin Batter

  • 2 1/2 Cups Unbleached, All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Salt
  • 6 Tablespoons Butter, melted
  • 2 Eggs
  • 1/2 Cup Honey
  • 1/2 Cup Orange Juice
  • 1/2 Cup Sour Cream
  • 2 Tablespoons Orange Zest, grated
  • 1 Cup Dried Cranberries
  • 1/2 Cup Walnuts, Chopped

Streusel Topping

  • 3 Tablespoons Butter, softened
  • 1/2 Cup Packed Brown Sugar
  • 1/2 Cup Unbleached, All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/2 Cup Walnuts, finely chopped / ground

Instructions

Make Optional Streusel

  1. Combine everything in a small bowl and using a fork mash together until small crumbles form.
  2. Set aside until muffin batter is complete.

Make Muffin Batter

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Grease muffin tins.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
  4. In a small bowl whisk together the melted butter, eggs, honey, orange juice and sour cream until completely emulsified and combined.
  5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well.
  6. Add the dried cranberries and chopped nuts. Mix until everything is completely combined. The batter will be thick.
  7. Divide the batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full.
  8. Top each muffin cup with a generous spoonful of streusel if using.
  9. Bake the muffins in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, an inserted toothpick will come out clean.
  10. Let cool in pan on wire racks for 5 minutes.
  11. Remove muffins from muffins tins to cool completely on wire racks.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1 muffin
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 301Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 45mgSodium: 223mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 2gSugar: 23gProtein: 5g

I try but cannot guarantee this nutritional information is 100% accurate.

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