Healthy Orange Cranberry Muffins

There’s no better breakfast than a fluffy muffin but store bought ones can be overly sweet or unfilling. These orange cranberry muffins are just as fluffy but are made with whole wheat flour and unsweetened cranberries for a delicious and filling breakfast that will power you throughout the day. These muffins are packed with fiber and taste so good with the perfect winter flavors, especially with the orange glaze!

Method

These muffins are so easy to make with simple tools and ingredients. The basic procedure involves mixing the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients separately and then combining and adding the cranberries. Other than this simple preparation, there are two small steps in the recipe.

The first is to mix the orange zest with the granulated sugar. Just use your fingers to really rub the zest together with the sugar, this will help release all of that amazing citrus flavor.

The second step is used right before the muffins are baked. In order to prevent the cranberries from sinking to the bottom of the muffins and making soggy bottoms, I spooned a thin layer of batter into the bottom of my muffin cups before stirring in the berries and adding the rest of the batter. I learned this trick from this great Serious Eats article. These two steps don’t take a lot of effort but they make the muffins so good!

Ingredients

These muffins are all about the amazing flavors from the oranges and cranberries and they really shine through! I used a large orange and scraped off all the zest and I squeezed the juice out of it for the orange juice. Some of the juice is used in the muffins and some of it is used for the orange glaze. The citrus flavor gives these muffins a bright flavor that compliments the tartness of the cranberries.

Speaking of cranberries, there are two options for this recipe. You can use either fresh or frozen cranberries in this recipe. The muffins will taste equally good no matter which option you chose. I used frozen cranberries for the pictured batch because I couldn’t find any fresh ones at the store and they tasted amazing! There are just a couple of things to be mindful of when using frozen ones. The first tip is to use the cranberries straight from the freezer. You don’t want to let them thaw because their juices will start to seep out and they will become mushy. We want to keep all that flavor IN the berries so I recommend keeping the cranberries in the freezer until you need to stir them in! The second thing to be mindful of is the baking time. Since we are adding a frozen ingredient straight to the batter, the baking time might be a little longer. I would check the muffins starting at 25 minutes using a toothpick test and keep baking them until the toothpick comes out clean.

Another thing I really love about these muffins is that they are made with whole wheat flour. Although these muffins are made with whole wheat flour, they are still light and fluffy! Just make sure that you don’t overmix the batter which could make the muffins tough. I love whole wheat flour because it adds a rich and slightly nutty flavor to the muffins that balances with the brightness of the orange. I also love whole wheat flour because it has more fiber than all purpose flour which keeps me full for much longer!

Another add-in for these muffins that I really like is a half cup of nuts like almonds, walnuts, or pecans. They add a really satisfying crunch to the texture of the muffins. Lastly, I made these muffins with an orange glaze on top which gives them a sweet kick and hits home the orange flavor but adding some coarse sugar on top would also be delicious. You could even do both!

Healthy Orange Cranberry Muffins

Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 24 minutes Servings: 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• Zest from one large orange, set aside 3/4 teaspoon for the glaze
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 cup greek yogurt or mashed fruit like applesauce or pumpkin puree, room temperature
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup orange juice, from one large orange
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional
• 1 1/2 cup cranberries (frozen or fresh), see above for tips if using frozen

For the orange glaze, optional but highly recommended:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 – 2 tablespoon orange juice
• 3/4 teaspoon orange zest

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375º F and grease a 12 cup muffin pan or use cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix together with a whisk and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, rub the orange zest and granulated sugar together between fingers. Add brown sugar, melted butter and greek yogurt or mashed fruit and whisk until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition until evenly combined. Add the vanilla extract and orange juice and whisk until mixed together.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and gently stir using a spatula or spoon until just combined. Do not overmix this batter. Add the nuts and fold into the batter. Spoon a little bit of the batter into each cup to make a thin base layer.
5. Stir the cranberries into the remaining batter and spoon into the muffin cups. Bake for 24-30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
6. When done baking, let the muffins rest in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.
7. For the orange glaze: in a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of orange juice. Mix together with a spoon and add more orange juice if necessary until the glaze reaches a drizzlable consistency. Once you are happy with the consistency, stir in the 3/4 teaspoon of orange zest. Drizzle the glaze on top of the muffins once they have cooled.

If you liked these healthy orange cranberry muffins, you might also like

• Healthy apple muffins
• Healthier pumpkin bread