Cranberry Muffins Recipe
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These homemade cranberry muffins are perfect for the autumn and winter months!
Growing up, my grandmother always told me the same, war-time story. Like many, she was a German immigrant who came to America to start a new life. So my childhood was filled with all the stories of growing up in Germany, and all the trials that came with living through and escaping from a war being fought right over your head.
These muffins remind me of her. Why?
She used to tell me about how, when they (my grandmother, mother and uncle) were hungry and had no money for food, they would stand outside the bakeries and get full on the smells that wafted out of them.
Have you ever done that? Gotten full off a smell?
Stories like that have created lasting memories of my childhood that will always be with me. The smell of these muffins as they baked was so tempting I stood in front of the oven while they were baking just to take in the smell. And you know what….. I got full!
Well, sort of. I still ate some muffins…
More Healthy Muffin Recipes
Cranberry Muffins Recipe
Cranberry Muffins
Equipment
- Standard muffin pan
Ingredients
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ cup avocado oil (or oil of your choosing)
- ¾ cups milk (regular or non-dairy.)
- 2 tsp. orange extract
- 1 tbsp. orange zest
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- ½ cup unsweetened apple sauce
- 2 cups fresh cranberries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Line your muffin tin with cupcake papers.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together your flour and baking soda.
- In a large mixing bowl, blend everything else.
- Combine the ingredients of both bowls, using a whisk.
- Pour into your muffin tin. Fill up the cups only half way.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick poked in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.
Notes
Nutrition
I'm Tiffany, a writer for MSN and the AP Newswire, a cookbook author, digital publisher, food lover, and mom. I create healthy, clean eating recipes for everyday living.
Wow, Tiff. I have been following your blog for a long time not but have never left a comment until now. This story really moved me – so much that I cried. For your grandma to get full off of a smell is such a touching image. You should really write a children’s book. Thank you for sharing your life with us! You truly are an amazing person!
LIC – Thank you for commenting! I’m touched that my post was so moving for you. My grandmother was a fabulously, strong woman. Her stories will stay with me forever.
If I were a muffin, I would be full of Nutella! 🙂
If I were a healthy muffin, it would have to be carrot cake!
Amy – LOL! I love it!
If I were a muffin, I would be a whole wheat bluberry muffin! YUMMY! Although these cranberry ones sound awesome! I just might have to make some!
Barrie – Please do! I’d love to know what you think of them!
Tiffany, this is such a beautiful story that was interwoven with this recipe. I was moved to tears. Thank you for sharing.
A muffin. Hmmmmmm banana gingerbread.
Paulissa – Thank you. I have so many of those stories. My mom still tells some of them to this day.
Banana gingerbread??? I smell a new clean eating muffin recipe coming on!
Hey Tiffany – LOVE your recipes (you know that from FB). When I make Cranberry muffins, I finely grate some orange peel into it. I wonder how much different that would be vs. the extract. Hmmmm…? 🙂 Keep ’em coming! I just need to find somewhere in my area that has whole wheat pastry flour!
Stacey – You could do that, but the flavor would not be as strong. The orange has to compete with the strong flavor of the cranberries. I think that zest by itself would get lost in the tartness of the berries. But it’s always worth a shot!
Hi! great site, love your recepies! Think I could I use frozen cranberries instead of fresh?
Nina – As long as there is no added sugar, I don’t see why not.
No added sugar just very expensive to get them fresh in my part of the world. Thanks!
Nina – Gotcha!
Love cranberry muffins! I think they are the perfect choice and that’s what I would want to be if I were a muffin – a bit tart and a bit sweet, all at the same time!
Valerie – Yes!! That’s why I love them so. It’s a perfect combination!
Yum yum. Makes me want some right now!
Tiff, can you use a different oil than avocado oil? I don’t have any on hand. Also, was thinking of using dates instead of cranberries. I happened to buy some dates last week and need to use them up. I saw a recipe yesterday with the Barefood Contessa that used dates for a date cake. Now hers was not ‘clean’ but thought…hmmm…maybe adapt this recipe and use dates instead??? What do you think?
Lora – You can sub whatever oil you want to. I’m not sure how dates bake. I’ve never baked with them. I don’t know how much moisture they would add, so you may have to adjust the baking time. But I don’t see why you couldn’t use them. Give it a try! That’s half the fun of being in the kitchen!
Since dates are considerably sweeter than cranberries you probably should skip (or considerably reduce the amount) the honey.
Wow! I used this recipe to make blackberry muffins – just substituted frozen blackberries for the cranberries and added vanilla instead of orange extract. They are delicious! My whole family likes them. Thanks, Tiffany!
Rachel
Rachel – that’s fabulous!! I’m so happy they turned out! This is truly one of my favorite muffin recipes. Delish!
I’m trying to avoid grains and grain products in general, especially the starchy parts. So I think I will try this with oat *bran* only and no flour. We are out of state for another 8 days so it will have to wait until we get home. I think it will make an awsome breakfast that the kidlets will eat too.
Jodi – Let me know how they turn out!
Elena – Yes you can. Enjoy!
I tried these and they turned out great ! But they were a little dry … How can I make them moist next time?
They are more of a dry muffin. but you can add an additional 1/4 cup apple sauce. That will go a long way. You may have to adjust the baking time a big though. Poke them to see.
Awesome! Hang in there! I hope the storm passes quickly. Stay safe!
Yes, you can freeze them. I would say, up to about 6 months.
Thank you!
Instead of applesauce, I use butternut squash puree. That way I can sneak in some vegetable nutrients without my two year-old son knowing!
Nice!
YUM! I am going to try honey in all my muffins it’s the perfect sweetness and my boyfriend loves them. Thank you!
My pleasure! 🙂
I am thoroughly enjoying so many of your recipes (especially the muffin ones)! I bake a few dozen every couple of weeks. Just a few days ago I made the zucchini bread and my oldest granddaughter loves it as much as I do. I gave her 3/4 of the loaf to take home so I made another loaf today. Thank you so much for all of these!
I have a question: I didn’t notice the recipe said fresh cranberries and when I went to the store earlier I got dried cranberries. How much should I alter the recipe?
Deborah – I would just treat them like chocolate chips. 🙂 Depending on how much you want in there, you could add 1/2 cup to 1 cup. I would probably go with 1/2 at first just so it’s not overwhelming. (unless you’re really a cranberry lover!)
Yum! I just made these and my daughter and I gobbled up 6 of them while they were still hot!
I used dried cranberries instead of fresh and cooked them for 15 minutes in my gas oven. We sliced them in half, put a dab of butter and a drizzle of honey on and couldn’t stop eating them! Thank you!
Katrina – My pleasure! Gosh, I think you just made me hungry!!
This year I bought a bunch of cranberries to freeze so I could make these all year long! My absolute favorite recipe on Gracious Pantry! Thank you! 🙂
Denise W – My pleasure!! 😀