Cranberry, Orange, and Pecan Muffins are the perfect fall breakfast or afternoon snack for this time of year when fresh cranberries are on sale everywhere. These muffins are moist and soft with a perfect balance of both sweet and tart flavors.
Cranberry Orange Muffins are such flavorful muffins, and the addition of pecans adds a really great crunch. These are great muffins to serve during the holiday season when fresh, juicy cranberries are available in stores. (The rest of the year, we love to serve my Buttermilk Muffins.) They are a great, light breakfast to have before a Thanksgiving feast or on Christmas morning after opening gifts.
With these delicious muffins, I got my husband to eat fresh, tart cranberries in a form other than a Craisin or cranberry sauce from a can, and that is saying something. I forget his exact words, but “surprisingly delicious” and “can I have another one” were among them. This is such a great recipe, and I am definitely making these for breakfast when my parents come to visit for the holidays!
Table of Contents
🥘 Ingredients Needed
- Softened Butter – I like to use salted butter almost always. If you use unsalted, you might need to add a touch more salt.
- Brown Sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla Extract
- All-Purpose Flour
- Ginger – It seems unusual, but ginger gives the tartness in these muffins a little more balance. Trust me – you want to add it.
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Kosher Salt
- Buttermilk – If you don’t have buttermilk, you can mix ½ cup of whole milk with a little less than 1 tablespoon of white vinegar.
- Orange Zest – If you really want a strong orange flavor, you can use orange extract, but I like the natural flavor of orange zest and fresh orange juice.
- Chopped Pecans – Pecans are optional but so good! They add a really nice crunch to balance out the soft, fluffy muffin.
- Chopped Cranberries – Make sure to use fresh cranberries as they add a lot of moisture to the muffins. I just gave them a quick chop in a mini-chopper to get them into nice, small pieces.
- Optional: Large Crystal Or Sanding Sugar – This just gives the muffin tops a little sugar crunch and even makes them a little sparkly. (I have also used gold sprinkles because they are cheaper and easier to get when you live out in the middle of nowhere 😉 )
🍽 Equipment Needed
- A Mixer
- Measuring Cups/Spoons
- A Muffin Tin
- A Mixing Bow
🥣 How to Make Cranberry Orange Muffins
Cranberry orange muffins are one of my favorite muffins to have for breakfast in the fall when fresh cranberries are easy to get in the grocery store. They are so easy to make!
Begin by creaming together the butter and brown sugar. (Picture 1 – 2)
I like to use my stand mixer and the paddle attachment. While that is mixing away, preheat the oven to 350°F and line a standard muffin tin with paper liners for 12 muffins. Scrape the sides of the bowl once or twice to make sure all the sugar gets incorporated into the butter.
Next, add the egg and mix it in fully. (Picture 3) Beat in the vanilla extract next. (Picture 4 – 5)
In a separate medium bowl, combine all-purpose flour, ginger, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. (You can sift it if you want, but I like to just give it a nice fluff with a fork to disperse the ingredients in the flour and break up any big chunks.) (Picture 6)
Now, slowly mix the dry ingredients into the butter/sugar mixture, alternating with the buttermilk. I like to add about a third of the flour mixture – beat well – add half the buttermilk – beat well – add another third of the flour mixture – beat well – add the rest of the buttermilk – beat well – then add the rest of the flour – beat well. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure that everything gets mixed in well. (Picture 7 – 10)
Next, fold in the orange zest, then add ½ cup of pecans and ½ cup of cranberries. (Reserve the 2 tablespoon portions of each for later – that will be added on top before baking.) (Picture 11 – 13)
Spoon batter into the muffin liners – I like to use a ¼ or ⅓ cup measure to try to maintain consistency in the size of the muffins. (Picture 14) Ideally, you want to fill them about ⅔ of the way full with muffin batter. (Picture 15)
Now is the time to use the reserved pecans and cranberries.
Sprinkle a little of each onto each of the muffins, then bake for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, crack open the oven door and sprinkle the muffins with some sanding sugar – I like to use large cane sugar crystals or gold sanding sugar, but you can use whatever you have.
Finish baking for 10 – 12 minutes, until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The tops of the muffins should spring back when you touch them.
Let the muffins sit in the muffin pan for about 5-10 minutes to cool, then remove them and serve or let them cool on a wire rack.
Eat them while they are still warm, but let them cool to room temperature for storage. Once they reach room temperature, they can be stored in an airtight container or plastic bag.
🙋♀️ Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! The pecans give the muffins some nice texture and crunch, but they are not an “essential” ingredient.
If you don’t have buttermilk, you can use milk with about a tablespoon of white vinegar. Let it sit until the milk curdles. It won’t be as good as actual buttermilk, but it will work for baking purposes. You can also use 1/4 cup of Greek yogurt or sour cream, thinned with 1/4 cup of milk.
You can make this with dried cranberries, but the muffins might be a little dry. I would add a squeeze of juice from the orange to replace the moisture that the cranberries release when baking.
🥫 How to Store Muffins
Once cooled, store these muffins in an airtight container for 3 – 5 days. If you aren’t going to eat all 12 right away, these muffins freeze really well.
They are a great breakfast to make in advance for Thanksgiving or Christmas morning when you have guests coming to visit – take them out of the freezer before going to bed and heat them up in the toaster oven, air fryer, microwave, or oven for a few minutes in the morning to get them nice and warm. We like to spread a little honey butter on them. Yum!
✏️ Helpful Tips
- Make these muffins with fresh cranberries while the stores are selling them for really cheap and freeze them. They are an easy and delicious breakfast to have on hand.
- If you don’t like cranberries, you can make this exact same recipe using blueberries and lemon zest to make blueberry muffins. If I make blueberry muffins, I like to make a streusel topping.
Other Great Breakfast Recipes
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Have You Tried This Recipe?
Please rate it and leave a comment below. I would love to hear what you think!
Cranberry Orange and Pecan Muffins
Ingredients
- ¼ cup salted butter softened
- 10 tablespoons packed light brown sugar this is equal to ½ cup + 2 tablespoons, but is confusing written that way
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ⅛ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup whole milk buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- ½ cup fresh cranberries chopped
- ⅓ cup pecan halves chopped
Topping
- 2 tablespoons fresh cranberries chopped
- 2 tablespoons pecan halves chopped
- 2 teaspoons sanding sugar
Instructions
- Cream together butter and brown sugar in the bowl of a mixer using the paddle attachment. Scrape the sides of the bowl once or twice to make sure all the sugar gets incorporated into the butter.¼ cup salted butter, 10 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
- While that is mixing, preheat the oven to 350°F and line a standard muffin tin with paper liners for 12 muffins.
- Add the egg and mix it in fully.1 egg
- Beat in the vanilla extract.½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate bowl, combine all-purpose flour, ginger, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. You can sift it if you want, but I like to just give it a nice fluff with a fork to disperse the ingredients in the flour and break up any big chunks.1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, 1 ⅛ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ teaspoons baking soda, ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Now, slowly mix the dry ingredients into the butter mixture, alternating with the buttermilk. Add about a third of the flour mixture – beat well – half the buttermilk – beat well – a third of the flour mixture – beat well – the rest of the buttermilk – beat well – the rest of the flour – beat well. Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to be sure that everything gets mixed in well.½ cup whole milk buttermilk
- Now, fold in the orange zest, then ½ cup of pecans and ½ cup of cranberries.1 teaspoon orange zest, ½ cup fresh cranberries, ⅓ cup pecan halves
- Scoop batter into the muffin tin – I like to use a ¼ or ⅓ cup measure to try to maintain consistency in the size of the muffins. Ideally, you want to fill them about ⅔ of the way full.
- Now is the time to use the reserved pecans and cranberries. Sprinkle a little of each onto each of the muffins, then bake for 10 minutes.2 tablespoons pecan halves, 2 tablespoons fresh cranberries
- After 10 minutes, crack open the oven door and sprinkle the muffins with some sanding sugar – I like to use large cane sugar crystals or gold sanding sugar but you can use whatever you have.2 teaspoons sanding sugar
- Finish baking for 10 – 12 minutes, until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let the muffins sit in the pan for about 5 minutes to cool, then remove them and serve or let them cool on a rack. Eat them while they are still warm, but let them cool to room temperature for storage. Once they reach room temperature, they can be stored in an air-tight container or plastic bag.
Notes
How to Store Cranberry Orange Muffins
Once cooled, store these muffins in an airtight container for 3 – 5 days. If you aren’t going to eat all 12 right away, these muffins freeze really well. They are a great breakfast to make in advance for Thanksgiving or Christmas morning when you have guests coming to visit – take them out of the freezer before going to bed and heat them up in the toaster oven, air fryer, microwave, or oven for a few minutes in the morning to get them nice and warm. We like to spread a little honey butter on them.Recipe Tips
- Make these muffins with fresh cranberries while the stores are selling them for really cheap and freeze them. They are an easy and delicious breakfast to have on hand.
- If you don’t like cranberries, you can make this exact same recipe using blueberries and lemon zest. They are delicious!
Special Equipment Needeed
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
Nutrition
Nutrition information is approximate and is automatically calculated, so should only be used as a guide.
