Name: Orange Cranberry Muffins
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: Dessert
Ingredients: 2 cups flour (I used 1/2 wheat and 1/2 white); 2/3 cup brown sugar; 1 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp baking soda; 1/2 tsp salt; 1 cup milk; 1/3 cup canola oil; 1 egg; 1 tsp vanilla; 1 tsp orange zest; 3/4 cup dried cranberries; 1/2 cup walnuts or pecans (optional)

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These Orange Cranberry Muffins are fragrant and moist, perfect with a cup of tea or coffee. They also make great muffin snacks for kids.

Delicious Orange Cranberry Muffin recipe

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I love baking up a batch of muffins to warm up the house during these cold, gray winter days. These Orange Cranberry Muffins are the perfect way to brighten up your taste buds and your mood!

Making our own snacks is healthier and saves so much money over buying. You have control over the ingredients, and you get to enjoy creating something from scratch.

What do you need to make Orange Cranberry Muffins?

I use a mix of white and wheat flour to add some whole grains and fiber, but use whatever flour you prefer. Sometimes I throw a tablespoon or two of ground flaxseed in as well.

By using dried cranberries, it’s easy to keep the ingredients on hand for this recipe.

I could have added nuts to these and they would be even better. But not in this house (allergies). They already have an amazing aroma and texture, but adding some pecans would put them in another realm!

We bake (and eat) a lot of snacks around here. It’s a frugal way for me to feed these tweens and teen, and I always like including some fruit and fiber in their snacks.

My 13yo son says these are his absolute favorite, and he loves a lot of different muffin flavors!

Orange Cranberry Muffins - easy recipe using dried cranberries - full of flavor!

Can I freeze these muffins for later use?

Absolutely! That’s one way that I can keep homemade, frugal treats on hand during busy months. When I am in a baking mood, I make an extra batch and let them cool. Then, I put the muffins into freezer zipper bags and store in the freezer for later.

To thaw them out, I just put a few (or the whole bag!) into the fridge. If you’d prefer a warm muffin, just pop one into the microwave for 1-2 minutes at half power.

Is this orange cranberry muffin recipe budget friendly?

It is! Similar muffins that you buy from a grocery store bakery would be at least $1.00/each.

This homemade version uses pantry ingredients plus the dried cranberries and zest from one orange. I buy my baking ingredients at Aldi, so they don’t cost much at all!

More delicious muffin recipes

baked orange cranberry muffins in muffin tin on wooden cutting board

Print the Orange Cranberry Muffins recipe

Yield: 12

Orange Cranberry Muffins

These Orange Cranberry Muffins are fragrant and moist. Such an easy from scratch recipe!

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Ingredients

2 cups flour (I used 1/2 wheat and 1/2 white)
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp orange zest
3/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans (optional)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare muffin pan with liners and nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In another bowl, stir together milk, oil, egg, vanilla and orange zest. Add wet ingredients to dry, and stir just to combine. Do not overmix.
Stir in cranberries and nuts, if using.
Spoon batter into 12 prepared muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of muffin comes out clean.
Cool pan on wire rack before removing muffins to fully cool.