Cranberry Orange Muffins (easy and quick)
Bright and citrusy cranberry orange muffins made with yellow cake mix, fresh cranberries, and orange zest. These soft, moist muffins make the perfect breakfast or snack, and the optional orange zest icing adds a fresh bakery-style finish.
Servings: 12 muffins
Calories: 272Kcal
Ingredients
For the Bread
- 1 Package yellow cake mix any brand
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ⅓ Cup Vegetable Oil
- ½ Cup Orange Juice fresh or bottled
- 1 Tablespoon Orange Zest Additional for garnish (optional)
- ¾ Cup Cranberries Fresh or frozen. I coarsely chop so they are roughly in quarters.
For Orange Drizzle (Optional)
- 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Orange Juice
- 1 teaspoon Orange Zest
- add 1 to 2 teaspoons water to get desired consistency.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line muffin tins with muffin liners.
- In a large bowl, mix the cake mix, eggs, oil, and orange juice and orange zest until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Fold in coarsely chopped cranberries until just mixed in.
- Scoop the batter into the muffin tin - fill to ¾ full. This recipe should make 12 good sized muffins. I add some cranberry halves to the top for garnish.
- Bake for 18 minutes. Check at about 16 minutes to see how done they are. Use a toothpick to check for doneness. It should come out with moist crumbs, not wet batter. When I make these, 18 minutes is the perfect amount of time.
Orange Glaze
- Mix powdered sugar, orange juice and orange zest until thick but pourable. You may need just a little less or a little more orange juice so add carefully.
- Allow muffins to cool until warm. Pour the glaze over the top so it drips down the sides. I often do this by putting the glaze in a small plastic bag and cutting the corner. This adds a nice orange flavor to these muffins!
Notes
Fresh or frozen cranberries both work in this recipe. If using frozen, do not thaw them before adding to the batter.
Use fresh orange zest for the strongest orange flavor. Bottled orange juice is fine, but the zest is what adds the fragrant citrus aroma.
A toothpick should come out with moist crumbs, not raw batter. Because of the cranberries, test in an area without a berry.
Nutrition (estimate)
Serving: 1muffin | Calories: 272Kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 326mg | Potassium: 61mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 75IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 99mg | Iron: 1mg