Dried cranberry muffins you can make all year round. These rich fruit-filled muffins with delicious orange glaze topping make awesome breakfast treats for Christmas or just about any day!
I love these dried cranberry muffins. I love the sweet tangy taste of the dried cranberries so adding them to muffins and cookies is definitely a thumbs up for me.
These dried cranberry muffins are packed with cranberries and to complement them, I have also added orange rind and candied orange peel to the muffin batter and topped them with fresh orange glaze. You can make the candied orange peel on your own or buy them from a store near you. Having said that, they are optional, if you can always omit them if you want to, or reduce the quantity as you wish.
With the amount of dried cranberries and orange peel indicated in my recipe below, you will get rich, cranberry orange muffins, perfect for those who love rich fruitcake-like muffins. And to top it all, these cranberry orange muffins are drizzled with delicious fresh orange glaze for the best orange and dried cranberry muffins!
How to Make Dried Cranberry Muffins
Ingredients
These are the ingredients that go into my dried cranberry orange muffins batter:
- Flour + baking powder + baking soda + salt
- Castor Sugar
- Buttermilk
- Oil
- Orange rind + juice
- Dried cranberries
- Candied orange peel
And these are what I used to make the fresh orange glaze:
- Powdered sugar
- Fresh orange juice
Making the dried cranberry orange muffins
- Start by preparing the cranberries. Measure them into a medium sized saucepan and add orange juice to them. Let the fruits soak for about 10 minutes and then simmer them over a small flame for a few minutes until the fruits plump up slightly.
- Remove from heat, add the candied orange peel and let them cool aside.
- Next, prepare the wet ingredients. Measure the oil, buttermilk, and egg into a measuring jug. Whisk these lightly until the egg breaks up. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the castor sugar and mix these well with a hand whisk.
- Make a whole in the centre and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until it forms a thick batter.
- Add in the dried cranberries and orange peel and mix them into the batter.
- Finally, add the grated orange rind into the dried cranberry muffins batter.
- Pour the batter into prepared muffin cups until about two thirds full.
- Bake the muffins at 170 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes until the tops spring back when pressed lightly. Do note, however, that the baking time will vary depending on the size of your muffin cups.
- Remove muffins from the oven and let them cool completely before adding the orange drizzle.
Fresh orange juice glaze for the orange cranberry muffins
- To make the fresh orange glaze icing, measure the powdered sugar into a small bowl. Add fresh orange juice and mix until the icing is smooth.
- Fill the glaze icing into a piping bag, and cut a tiny hole. Pipe the glaze in a circular motion on each of the muffins. And the dried cranberry muffins with orange glaze are ready!
Tips for Best Dried Cranberry Muffins
Follow these tips to make the best orange cranberry muffins ever:
Dried cranberries
- These are normally sold in chopped form, if you want , you can chop them further into smaller pieces.
- Make sure to simmer these dried fruits with orange juice before adding into the muffin batter. That way, they get plumped up a little and taste so much better.
- If you wish to use fresh cranberries, increase the amount in the recipe to 1 cup and toss them with 2 teaspoons for flour before mixing into the muffins batter.
Candied orange peel
- This is optional, but definitely adds to the richness of the muffins.
- You can make these peels on your own (see how I make the orange peels here) or buy them ready made from a store near you.
Buttermilk substitute
- If you do not have buttermilk, the best substitute would be to use milk with lemon juice added to it.
- Measure milk into the same quantity as indicated in the recipe and add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to it. Stir and let it sit for a few minutes until the mixture curdles and you can use it.
Baking time for the dried cranberry orange muffins
- The baking time indicated in the recipe depends largely on the size of muffin cups used.
- The ones I used measure 5 cm at the base, 7 cm at the top, and 4cm in height. I filled my muffin cups to about two thirds full and it took the muffins 20 minutes to bake.
- Adjust your baking time accordingly if your muffin cups differ in size.
Oil
- Oil is an important ingredient in these cranberry muffins. It is the one ingredient that keeps the muffins super moist.
- For best results use light flavorless oils like sunflower or canola oil. I used sunflower oil.
Storing the muffins
- These dried cranberry muffins can last at room temperature for a good 4 to 5 days provided they are handled without any moisture.
- If you wish to keep them longer, it is best to refrigerate them. Bring the muffins back to room temperature before serving them.
Dried Cranberry Muffins with Orange Glaze
Here is the full printable version of my dried cranberry muffins recipe:
Dried Cranberry Muffins with Orange Glaze
Dried cranberry muffins you can make all year round. These rich fruit-filled muffins with delicious orange glaze topping make awesome breakfast treats for Christmas or just about any day!
Print Pin RateYield: 9 muffins
Ingredients
Muffins
- 160 g plain flour
- 125 g castor sugar
- 125 ml buttermilk
- 60 ml oil
- 1 egg
- 150 g dried cranberries
- 50 g candied orange peel
- 1 tbsp grated orange rind (from 1 orange)
- 4 tbsp fresh orange juice
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
Frosting
- 75 g powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp fresh orange juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 170°Celsius.
- Measure dried cranberries into a small saucepan. Soak with orange juice for 10 minutes. Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes while stirring continuously.
- Remove from heat and add the candied orange peel. Set aside to cool.
- In a measuring jug, mix the oil, buttermilk, and egg lightly with a hand whisk lightly with a hand whisk. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add sugar and mix with a whisk until the ingredients are well blended.
- Make a well in the center and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix to form a thick batter.
- Add the dried cranberries and orange peel to the batter. Mix well.
- Fold in the grated orange rind.
- Pour the batter into prepared muffin casings and bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove muffins from the oven and let them cool completely before frosting.
- To make the orange glaze, mix the powdered sugar with orange juice until smooth. Transfer into a piping bag and pipe the orange glaze in a circular motion on each muffin.
Nutrition
Calories: 302kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 287mg | Potassium: 74mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 79IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 1mg
And that’s pretty much my dried cranberry muffins recipe for you.
Happy baking 🙂 🙂
Here are my other muffin recipes you might want to check out:
Easy Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
Pin this dried cranberry muffins with orange glaze recipe for later here:
Leave a Reply