I love a good cranberry muffin. Cranberry and orange is such a classic combination, and there’s nothing better than a slightly tart slice of cranberry bread or cranberry swirl muffin for my breakfast with a cup of tea. Since we are just a few days removed from Thanksgiving and you may still have leftovers, what do you do with your leftover cranberry sauce? Thankfully, leftover cranberry sauce is swirled right into these delicious muffins to enjoy for your breakfast or deliver to your neighbor as a holiday treat!
Some of my muffins are on the healthier size, and some of them I love to use butter and sugar for a muffin that tastes like it came straight from a bakery counter. These are the latter, with a buttery, cranberry-swirled base and a brown sugar streusel topping. These cranberry swirl muffins are best enjoyed the day that you bake them, but they are also good eaten within 24 hours. And trust me, I don’t think you’ll have a problem devouring these!
These muffins start the way most delicious baked good do. First, cream together your butter and sugar, then add your eggs one at a time. Add your yogurt, milk, oil, and vanilla and almond extracts. A little almond extract in baked goods is my secret to make them taste even better. In a separate bowl, whisk together your flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add your dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. That part is important because overmixing will give you tough muffins. When filling your muffin tin, you first need to spray it well with nonstick cooking spray. Add a little batter to the bottom of each muffin tin, then a dollop of leftover cranberry sauce, followed by another small scoop of batter. Using a toothpick, swirl the batter and the cranberry sauce together. Finally, top your muffins with the cinnamon streusel topping before baking.
If you don’t have leftover cranberry sauce or want to change these muffins up, you can also substitute a swirl of jam for the cranberry sauce. That’s a great way to ensure you can enjoy these muffins even when cranberries aren’t in season! I plan to try them with strawberry, blueberry, or cherry jam this summer. For now, I hope you enjoy thes easy cranberry muffins!
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- ⅔ cups granulated sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt, at room temperature
- ¼ cup canola or vegetable oil
- ¼ cup milk, at room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ tsp. almond extract
- ⅔ cup leftover cranberry sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ⅓ cup flour
- ¼ tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
- 4 tbsp. melted butter
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the yogurt and mix to combine, then slowly add oil, milk, and almond and vanilla extracts as you are mixing on low.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Place a towel on top of the bowl and let the batter rest for one hour.
- While the batter is resting, make the streusel topping. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and sugar. Add the melted butter and mix until the streusel is the consistency of wet sand.
- When you're ready to make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a standard 12 cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place a spoonful of the muffin batter in the bottom of each space in the muffin tin. Then add a dollop of cranberry sauce, then another spoonful of batter. Use a toothpick to swirl the cranberry sauce and the muffin batter together. Sprinkle the streusel topping on top of each muffin.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing from the muffin tin and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Muffins are best enjoyed the same day they are baked but are good in an airtight container for up 24 hours.
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