Description
Anera’s Delightful Cranberry Orange Muffins are moist, tangy, and bursting with fresh cranberries and a bright orange zest flavor. These jumbo-sized muffins combine a tender crumb with a subtly crunchy turbinado sugar topping, perfect for breakfast, brunch, or a sweet snack. The recipe balances the tartness of cranberries with the sweetness of orange and vanilla, baked to perfection for an inviting treat.
Ingredients
Scale
Dry Ingredients
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup light olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Additional Ingredients
- 1½ cups fresh or frozen cranberries (do not thaw if frozen)
- 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar (for a crunchy top)
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a jumbo muffin pan with paper liners or grease the cups thoroughly to prevent sticking.
- Prepare Dry Ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to ensure they are well combined and aerated.
- Prepare Wet Ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk the light olive oil (or vegetable oil), granulated sugar, eggs, whole milk, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla extract until the mixture is smooth and the sugar has dissolved completely.
- Combine Wet and Dry Mixtures: Pour the wet ingredient mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients. Gently fold the two together until just combined; the batter should remain slightly lumpy to avoid overmixing and ensure a tender muffin texture.
- Incorporate Cranberries: Carefully fold in the fresh or frozen cranberries, distributing them evenly throughout the batter without breaking them up.
- Fill Muffin Tins: Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared muffin cups, filling each about three-quarters full to allow room for rising.
- Add Topping: Sprinkle a tablespoon of turbinado sugar evenly over the tops of all the muffins for a delightful, crunchy finish.
- Bake Muffins: Place the muffins in the preheated oven and bake at 400°F (200°C) for 5 minutes to give them an initial rise, then immediately reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (175°C). Continue baking for an additional 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Cool Muffins: Remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.
Notes
- Do not thaw frozen cranberries before incorporating to prevent color bleed and maintain texture.
- Filling muffin cups about ¾ full helps prevent overflow while allowing good rise.
- Turbinado sugar topping adds a nice crunch and a subtle caramelized flavor.
- Using light olive oil gives a mild flavor; vegetable oil can be substituted for a neutral taste.
- Whole milk can be substituted with any milk alternative if desired.
- Watch the initial high-temperature baking closely to avoid over-browning.
