Cranberry Muffins (One Bowl Recipe) (2024)

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These Cranberry Muffins are light and fluffy with a hint of vanilla and filled with fresh, tart cranberries. Topped with a crunchy, cinnamon sugar streusel on huge muffin tops.

These are bakery-style muffins you can make at home in one bowl with simple ingredients.

Step-by-step photos and instructions are below!

Cranberry Muffins (One Bowl Recipe) (1)

These muffins are SO good. They’re soft and airy with a sweet but tart hit of flavor from the cranberries.

Much like the Cranberry Cake I posted recently, simple recipes around the holidays are a key survival tip. Doing complex recipes just doesn’t work for me! I need things that don’t require a lot of ingredients or anything I need to order from a specialty store. I also don’t want to dirty up the entire kitchen so simple, one-bowl recipes are my JAM.

The recipe makes 12 muffins, but if you have a lot of cranberries leftover from making Cranberry Sauce or Cranberry Cake or whatever delight you whipped up for Thanksgiving, I’d make a double batch and share with neighbors!

I hope you love this recipe as much as we do!

Why you’ll love this recipe

  • Simple ingredients. Nothing fancy, and items you likely already have.
  • Uses just one bowl. We can get behind the low dishes requirement.
  • Adaptable. See the notes for suggestions on how to mix this recipe up!
Cranberry Muffins (One Bowl Recipe) (2)

Ingredient Notes

The full list of ingredients and quantities is found in the printable recipe card below.

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How to make cranberry muffins from scratch:

Full, printable recipe below – just scroll down to the recipe card!

Get prepped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Prepare a muffin pan by lining with paper muffin cups or spray with non-stick spray.

Make the batter

  1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
  2. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the oil, beaten eggs, milk and vanilla extract.
  3. Stir just until everything is combined.
  4. Fold in the cranberries, then scoop the batter into the muffin tin filling them right to the top.
Cranberry Muffins (One Bowl Recipe) (4)

Make the Streusel Topping

To make the streusel topping, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and butter in a small bowl.

With your fingers, work the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles crumbs.

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Bake

Sprinkle the streusel on the tops of the muffins then place on the center rack of the oven to bake.

Bake for 28-30 minutes until lightly golden and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Allow to cool completely and then move to an airtight container for storage.

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Devour.

Kylee’s Notes & FAQs

These will work fine with either fresh or frozen cranberries. Frozen cranberries, however, will tint your batter pink.

Don’t over mix the batter, mix just until everything is combined. Overmixing will result in heavier muffins.

Using an ice cream scoop to scoop the batter into the muffin tin makes things super quick and results in more uniform muffins.

Fill the muffin tins right to the top for the big, fluffy muffin tops.

These can be made into mini muffins vs regular sized muffins. Be sure to adjust the cook time down though, as they won’t need as much time in the oven to cook.

How long will these muffins keep?

They will keep for about 5 days in an airtight container.

Can I freeze these muffins?

Yes, they freeze very well in an airtight container or ziplock bag. They should keep for several months.

Can you use dried cranberries instead of fresh in muffins?

Yes, but you will need to reduce the sugar in the recipe. Dried cranberries are dried with sweeteners and will affect your final result.

Do you have to cook cranberries before baking?

Nope, throw them right in!

Substitutions/Additions

  • You can replace the cranberries with blueberries, blackberries or raspberries.
  • Vegetable oil can be replaced with melted butter or melted coconut oil.
  • Replace vanilla extract with orange or lemon extract.
  • Replace the streusel topping with chopped nuts.
  • You can add orange or lemon zest to the batter for different flavor combinations.
  • You can replace part of the white flour with whole wheat. You may need to add a bit of extra milk when doing this.
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Some of our favorite muffin recipes

  • Trail Mix Muffins – Make these fun trail mix muffins for a boost in lunchboxes, or make them for yourself! Fluffy muffins with fruit and nuts – irresistible!
  • Blueberry Crumb Muffins – Not your average muffin, these streusel muffins take it up a notch with a sweet streusel topping
  • Fresh Strawberry Banana Muffins – packed full of fresh flavors, and last about 5 minutes after coming out of the oven! They’ll be devoured FAST!
  • Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins -A hybrid between a donut and a muffin – sweet, fluffy, dipped in butter and then rolled in cinnamon sugar.
  • Jammy Crumb Muffins – Delicate, vanilla-y muffins, with a buttery crumb topping, and a sweet jammy surprise inside, these won’t last long!
  • ALL MUFFIN RECIPES

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Cranberry Muffins (One Bowl Recipe) (8)

Cranberry Muffins

5 from 3 votes

These Cranberry Muffins are light and fluffy with a hint of vanilla and filled with fresh, tart cranberries. Topped with a crunchy, cinnamon sugar streusel on huge muffin tops.

Author: Kylee Ayotte

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes minutes

Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients

For the Muffins

For the Streusel Topping

Directions

Get prepped

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

  • Prepare a muffin tin by lining with paper muffin cups or spray with non-stick spray.

Make the batter

  • In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

  • Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the oil, beaten eggs, milk and vanilla. Stir just until everything is combined.

  • Fold in the cranberries and then scoop the batter into the muffin tin filling them right to the top.

Make the Streusel Topping

  • To make the streusel topping, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon and butter in a small bowl. With your fingers, work the butter into the dry ingredients until it resembles crumbs.

Bake

  • Sprinkle the streusel on the tops of the muffins then place on the centre rack of the oven to bake.

  • Bake for 28-30 minutes until lightly golden and a toothpick comes out clean.

  • Allow to cool and then move to an airtight container for storage.

  • Devour.

Tried this recipe? Tag me!Mention @kyleecooks or tag #kyleecooks!

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 1muffin | Calories: 320kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 238mg | Potassium: 168mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 162IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 2mg

Disclaimer

Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.

About Kylee Ayotte

I am a born and raised New Zealander (a Kiwi), now living in Phoenix, Arizona. I’m happily married to the love of my life – a hot American boy I met while traveling the world. I’m a mama to 2 awesome little boys and love red things, rugby, cheesecake, and bacon. Mmmmm. Bacon. Read More

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Comments

  1. Pam Mackey says

    This is a great recipe and so very tasty; I’ve made them several times and end result is always great; have added orange peel along with cranberries; my only problem seems to be getting them out of the muffin tins especially with the muffin tops! I’ll keep working on that though since this is a very easy and adaptive recipe. Thanks.

    Reply

  2. Terry Russell says

    I thought these might be too sweet when I first saw the recipe, but I made them anyhow. They were just right! The tart fresh cranberries needed the sugar. Good recipe!

    Reply

Cranberry Muffins (One Bowl Recipe) (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to moist muffins? ›

How to Make Homemade Muffins Moist: Our Top Tips
  1. Tips to Make Homemade Muffins Moist.
  2. Keep Wet and Dry Ingredients Separately.
  3. Add All Flavorings Last.
  4. Consider Paper Liners.
  5. Don't Overfill the Muffin Cups.
  6. Check the Temperature of Your Oven.
  7. Test if Muffins Are Fully Cooked.
  8. Top Your Muffins with Flavor.
Aug 9, 2021

What is the secret to high muffins? ›

The idea here is to start the muffins in a very hot oven for just a short amount of time. This activates the baking powder and allows the muffins to shoot up in height quickly. We then turn the heat down and continue to cook for longer. This is done to avoid over-browning and overbaking.

Can I use frozen cranberries instead of fresh in baking? ›

Yes! Fresh cranberries freeze for up to a year and can often be substituted in recipes that call for fresh cranberries. When cooking with frozen cranberries, do not thaw before using.

How many calories are in a homemade cranberry muffin? ›

Per Serving: 174 calories; calories from fat 26%; fat 5g; saturated fat 2.7g; mono fat 1.4g; poly fat 0.4g; protein 3.2g; carbohydrates 29.2g; fiber 0.7g; cholesterol 30mg; iron 1.2mg; sodium 182mg; calcium 69mg.

Is it better to use butter or oil in muffins? ›

Using oil as a substitute for butter in muffins can result in a lighter and more tender crumb, but it may also produce a slightly different flavor, depending on the type of oil used. Applesauce can also be used as a substitute for butter in muffins, as it provides moisture and can help to keep the muffins tender.

What not to do when making muffins? ›

Here are some common mistakes that might be causing this:
  1. Over mixing the batter.
  2. Overfilling the muffin tray.
  3. Leaving the muffins in the pan after they have baked.
  4. Berries, nuts, and chocolate chips sink to the bottom.
Mar 12, 2019

What does adding an extra egg do to muffins? ›

If there isn't enough egg, your batter or dough may not be able to hold its structure or could end up overly dry or dense. On the other hand, if there is too much egg, your baked goods could lose their shape due to excess liquid, or have a rubbery (or even overly cakey) texture depending on the recipe.

Should you let muffin batter rest? ›

Rest the Muffin Batter

The first, most hands-off way to make your muffins pop (literally) is to let the batter rest. Make the batter, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let the batter rest at room temperature for about 1 hour. If you're short on time, just 30 minutes can make a difference.

How do you make muffins taste better? ›

Makers love to use these 5 ways to experiment with muffin mixes to make something extra special.
  1. Add Fresh or Frozen Fruit to the Batter. ...
  2. Add a Cream Cheese Filling. ...
  3. Add Nuts to the Batter. ...
  4. Add a Sweet Topping. ...
  5. Make Something Completely Different.

Should you chop cranberries before baking? ›

How to Use Fresh Cranberries in Baking
  1. How to prepare fresh cranberries for baking. There's really not much you need to do to prepare fresh cranberries for baking. ...
  2. Should you chop cranberries before baking? You definitely don't need to! ...
  3. Do I need to cook cranberries before baking? Nope!

Should you cut cranberries before baking? ›

You can also look for recipes calling for fresh blueberries and use cranberries instead. Since they're similar in size, fresh blueberries and cranberries can be substituted one-for-one. If your cranberries are on the larger size, we'd cut them in half or quarters before baking.

Why are there no cranberries in the stores? ›

You may even want to freeze a few bags, so you can enjoy fresh cranberry recipes throughout the year. * The availability of fresh cranberries is limited because the harvest season is very short. Harvesting begins in September and continues through November, and fresh cranberries may be purchased during that time.

How much sugar is in a cranberry muffin? ›

Amount/Serving%DV*Amount/Serving
Trans Fat - - - gSugars 17.7g
Cholesterol 40mg13%Protein 3g
Sodium 200mg13%
Vitamin A - IU 0% Vitamin C 0% Calcium 0% Iron 2% Fat 15% Saturated Fat 10%
2 more rows

How many carbs in a cranberry muffin? ›

Kroger Cranberry Orange Muffin (1 muffin) contains 35g total carbs, 34g net carbs, 23g fat, 6g protein, and 450 calories.

How much sugar is in a cranberry orange muffin? ›

Region: US
ServingIngredientCalories
31.43 gcranberries14
0.29egg23
35.71 gsugar138
8.57 gchopped walnut56
5 more rows

How do you add moisture to muffins? ›

Recently I discovered that if I use sour cream in place of milk in a muffin recipe, I get a super moist, fluffy muffin! The switch is very easy. If a recipe calls for 3/4 cup of milk, I simply use 3/4 cup of sour cream instead. Occasionally, I need to add a bit more sour cream to moisten the muffin batter.

What oil is best for moist muffins? ›

Vegetable oil is ideal because its mild flavour doesn't compete with the main flavour of the muffin. My recipes generally specify 100ml vegetable oil per batch of 12, which is only 1½ teaspoons per muffin.

How do you moisten baked muffins? ›

Use a steamer

Steaming is a great way to add moisture to past-their-prime muffins. And according to a TikTok user, you should also be steaming your muffins when you bake them since the hot air and steam allow more time for the centers to rise, resulting in tender and airy muffins.

Why are bakery muffins so much better? ›

The best bakery-style crumb muffins start with cake flour

Cake flour is more finely ground and has less protein, which leaves the muffins with a fine, light crumb and soft texture. Using cake flour is an easy way to avoid heavy, dense muffins even if you end up stirring just a bit too much.

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