Dried Cranberry Muffins

These dried cranberry muffins are moist and fluffy with the perfect combination of sweet and tart flavors. They're a delicious treat for a Fall or Winter breakfast and only take 30 minutes to make!

Cranberry is such an underrated holiday flavor. They're so juicy and vibrant and deserve more attention! These moist dried cranberry muffins are perfect to make for Fall or Thanksgiving if you're over all things pumpkin. They're fluffy and tender thanks to buttermilk and have tart dried cranberries in every bite!

With a handful of simple, pantry-staple ingredients, these will be a breakfast staple during the holiday season. The recipe only requires 2 bowls and no mixer! Serve them with sprinkled with sugar or drizzled with icing at brunch for a little extra sweetness.

This recipe uses the same basic batter as my buttermilk muffin recipe. If you love muffins, make pumpkin cream cheese muffins, white chocolate muffins, or mini blueberry muffins next!

Ingredient Notes

Here are notes about some of the ingredients used. For quantities and full instructions, see the recipe card below.

• Flour- All purpose flour works best. Measure it in grams with a kitchen scale for the most accurate results. If you don't have a scale, fluff up the flour in the bag before gently spooning it into your measuring cup. Once overflowing, swipe off the excess.
• Baking powder- Baking powder reacts with the oven's heat and makes the muffins rise, getting those tall muffin tops! Make sure it isn't expired before using.
• Melted butter- I prefer unsalted butter to add fat, a rich buttery flavor, and to control the amount of salt in the muffins. Muffins don't rely on the structure of creamed butter like cupcakes do, so melted butter is perfectly fine to use.
• Oil- Muffins made with only butter can be a bit dense. Using oil with butter keeps them soft and moist! Use flavorless neutral oil like canola oil, avocado oil, or vegetable oil.
• Eggs- 2 large eggs bind everything together and add extra lift. Make sure they're at room temperature so they mix in easily- take out of the refrigerator an hour before baking.
• Buttermilk- The acid in this ingredient tenderizes the gluten strands from the flour and makes muffins super fluffy and light. Make sure it's room temperature too- take it out of the refrigerator with the eggs.
• Dried cranberries- I prefer unsweetened dried cranberries (or craisins), but sweetened work too.

Substitutions & Variations

• To make the muffins gluten free, substitute the all purpose flour with Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour.
• An equal amount of plain kefir, Greek yogurt, or sour cream can be substituted for buttermilk.
• Add a tablespoon of lemon zest or orange zest to the batter for a bright juicy flavor! You can add warm spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cardamom too.
• If you don't like craisin muffins, you can use raisins, chopped pitted dates, açaí berries, or any other dried fruit.
• You can use fresh or frozen cranberries too! Chop fresh cranberries before adding to the batter. If you use frozen ones, I recommend coating them with a little flour before folding in to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the muffin liners.
• Drizzle with glaze or spread frosting on top for a special touch! I highly recommend this small batch cream cheese frosting.

Helpful Equipment & Tools

Bake the muffins in a 12-well muffin tin lined with muffin liners or sprayed with baking spray. Use a light colored aluminum pan- don't use a silicone pan because your muffins will burn.

Step by Step Instructions

Before you start, prepare a muffin pan with liners and set aside. Preheat a convention oven to 425°F/220°C.

STEP 1: First, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.

STEP 2: In a separate large bowl, whisk cooled melted butter, oil, eggs, and vanilla together. Do this vigorously until well combined with no lumps.

Expert Baking Tips

1. Use room temperature ingredients. Room temperature eggs and buttermilk mix in more evenly and create a uniform batter.
2. Fill the muffin cups almost all the way! For sky high muffin tops, fill each muffin liner almost all the way full.
3. Don't overmix. Fold in the dried cranberries just until the dry patches of flour disappear. It's ok if there are some lumps. Mixing too much makes for tough, gummy muffins.

Storage & Freezing

Store the dried cranberry muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. You can store them in the refrigerator for up to 6 days, but they might dry out sooner because of the dry environment.

Freezing

Place the muffins in a freezer safe, airtight container or zip-top bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Let them thaw in the refrigerator or on the counter for a couple hours before eating. You can also microwave for about 20 seconds or reheat in the oven for 5 minutes at 350°F/180°C.

Frequently Asked Questions