Makes 12 muffins
The holidays are over, but the cranberries linger on! I always have a bunch of odds and ends left over from my whirlwind of holiday baking and cooking. This year I had a lot of citrus and cranberries, so these muffins from Vegan Brunch were the perfect getaway plan.
There’s a lot to love about these muffins – their bright orange flavor and tangy cranberry bite. But the ingredients aren’t just yummy, they’re really convenient, too. You don’t even need any non-dairy milk, just the juice from the oranges. I’ve made these with reduced fat, too. Just use 1/3 cup apple sauce and 1 tablespoon of oil instead of all the oil called for. Also, nuts are optional, I left them out this time around.
2 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tablespoons orange zest
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups fresh cranberries, roughly chopped
1 cup pecans or walnuts, roughly chopped (optional)
Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly grease a muffin tin.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in the center and add canola oil, orange juice, zest and vanilla. Mix just until all wet ingredients are moistened. About 1/2 way through mixing add the cranberries and nuts.
Fill muffin tins 3/4 full and bake for 23 to 27 minutes, until lightly browned on top and a toothpick or knife inserted through the center comes out clean. When cool enough to handle, transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.
Thank you! I’ve been dying to make cranberry orange muffins all week, but I wasn’t sure which recipe to use. These will be made tonight.
Mmmmmm. These look really good!
Cranberries are actually one of my favorite foods. They are sweet and tart, healthy, and great in so many recipes (and even raw).
I do in fact have leftover cranberries, and they are definitely going to be put towards making these muffins!
lovely photo. have dried cranberries, and always have oranges, but no time. this recipe goes directly into the folder entitled “make asap”. thanks!
AND, this post is a reminder to buy Vegan Brunch when next in a place where Amazon delivers. Merci, encore.
Yum.. those are beautiful.
Yum! In the oven baking as I type…
Thanks so much for your new cookbook. I became vegan for health reasons a couple of years ago and love the look of all your recipes, but was limited due to fat restrictions. Your new cookbook is the perfect fit for me and I can’t wait to try out all the recipes! Just what I was looking for!
Love these muffins!! A tip though – in an effort to be healthy, I subbed 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour and 1 cup barley flour for the all-purpose, and they kind of fell apart after the first bite. Isa, I am a huge fan and love, love, love your recipes but especially your comments at the beginning of each recipe. They are little literary gems to me! 🙂 Keep on inspiring us in the vegan kitchen!
Also, FYI, these are good when the cranberries are replaced by chocolate chips if the baker is in dire need of something desserty. 🙂
…and they’re in the oven at midnight here in the Sangre de Cristos – subbed 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour.
High Altitude Modifications: Sugar – 1/3 + 1/4 cup; Baking Powder – 1 1/2 tsps; Baking Soda – 1/4 tsp.
OMG! Those look so delicious! Can’t wait to try them out! I love your cookbooks by the way…
And I started a vegan cooking blog myself if everyone wants to check it out:
http://moreleaflessbeef.blogspot.com/
Leave your comments and let me know what you think! Thanks!!
These. Are. Delicious. My non-vegan sister was shocked to know that there were no “crazy” ingredients in these. No egg?? She’s still warming up to the idea that I’m vegan 😛 Thanks for the keeper. P.S. I also made your Chocolate – Chocolate Chip Pancakes for her. I think I make those for everyone who eats breakfast/brunch at our house. I realize your recipe says for the “special occasion” or Valentine’s Day, but I do it to impress the non-vegan skeptics. Right on.
This recipe rules so hard. Much to my dismay, I didn’t have any leftover fresh cranberries & they’ve been stripped from the shelves at my local grocery stores. Anyone reading this – if you find yourself in a similar predicament, just reconstitute dried cranberries by putting them in a bowl with orange juice until they have absorbed all of the juice and are plump/saturated with tons of orange flavor.
I made these this morning, put streusel on half of them & didn’t even feel bad about devouring two. Everyone else who came hustling into the kitchen because they made the house smell so delicious thought they were amazing, too. They’re perfectly moist and spongey without being heavy. Amazing flavor combination, too. Thanks for the recipe, Isa!
This is, without a doubt, my most favorite muffin recipe ever. My mother-in-law is insane about these and wants me to make them whenever she comes over.
I love cranberries and pecans, and anything with orange zest is my friend. this recipe looks wonderful, and I love your photos.
These were a huge hit. Thanks!!
Will this not work with the white whole wheat flour vs using the all purpose
That would work just fine!
Yum! They look so fluffy and delicious!
The taste of these is fantastic, but they didn’t rise as much as other muffins I’ve made. Could that be due to the orange juice? I love love love the flavor, but wondering if I could get them to rise more with soy milk?
They just came out of the oven and I’m having a hard time not devouring them all!!!! For those who are counting that is 275kcal of yuminess each without the nuts.
I used dried cranberries instead of fresh, and plumped them up in warm water beforehand as per recommendation above. Also sprinkled some extra sugar on top before baking. Great texture and sweet/tart flavor – I recommend throwing some in a bag for your winter day hikes. They hold up well and help you back down the mountain.
I think the recipe can use a bit more of sugar. Also, the baking time is too long. You would need to keep checking on them to prevent burning/overbaking. Since I didn’t have orange/zest,. I used orange juice with lots of pulp. I would need to play with this recipe for a little bit.
These are tasty! Just made them and sub’d 1/3 C Agave for the sugar (would maybe use 1/2 C next time) and used frozen cranberries instead, also added 1/4 flax meal.
The whole house smelled so good while they were cooking, they really would be a great brunch muffin!! 😀
I have $6.00 to my name and hardly any food in the house but, YES!!! Somehow I have all the ingredients to make these. My boyfriend is away for the week and I have PMS. I am going to make these and eat them all before he comes back. I KNOW they are going to be great because your recipes are SOOOOOO.. good. You rock!
how can i make mini cupcakes & muffins work..ie..stay yummy & moist. I tried with your yummmmmy lemon cupcakes..they were so dry. I love all your cupcakes!!! & so does my family…vegans & non-vegans!
Don’t overbake them and once cooled, keeping them wrapped in plastic until ready to frost. But smaller baked goods do tend to dry out faster than the big guys.
Genius! I love cranberry orange. The local grocery store used to make a cranberry orange bagel (no egg wash, 100% vegan, score!), but alas, no more. I must make these.
These were fantastic!
Thanks! The chocolate mini cupcakes were awesome, with the buttercream frosting! I turned the heat down to 325 & baked them for 11 minutes…perfect! Keep coming with all your delicious recipes.
These are so good! I did not have cranberries so I used blueberries instead, I would have used a few less blueberries but other than that all worked well! Shall try it with actual cranberries soon! 🙂
These are very tasty! Just pulled my first batch from the oven, and I’m sure I’ll be making them again.
Like others above, I used dried cranberries (sweetened, since that’s what I could find) and soaked them in hot water while getting all the other ingredients ready. I used 1/2 cup of them, measured dry, and that wasn’t enough for my taste – next time will use 3/4 or 1 cup, I think.
Many thanks for the recipe.
Hi Isa,
These look divine! Anything I can do to lower the amount of oil, or should I just suck it up and go with it?
You can totally do 1/2 apple sauce 1/2 oil!
Absolutely fantastic. Made with white whole wheat flour. Light. Thank you!!!
I made these with some fresh blueberries and my family loved them! Thanks for sharing!
love love love! I substituted 1/2 applesauce for half the oil, 1 cup whole wheat flour for half the flour, and used dried cranberries (plumped up with hot water). DELISH MUFFINS!
These are the BEST! I’ve made them with blueberries instead, and they turn out great. Also these frozen mixed berries that Trader Joe’s carries – blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and I think cherries and they are divine!
Isa, I have made these probably about 10 times since you have posted this recipe. I make them for neighbors, coworkers, and family. I have been buying frozen cranberries in bulk so I always have them in my freezer. The oranges I get from my tree ;-). Seriously, this is the best recipe I have ever followed. THANKS!
Made these last night, with the 1/2 applesauce – 1/2 oil combo, and with Craisins plumped in OJ as suggested in a previous comment. Man, these are delicious; almost addictive. We’ve been eating them like crazy!
What aboutsubstituting Splenda for the sugar?
I made these for my co-workers who raved about them. Great recipe!!
these are awesome! i made them, and my family who are most definitely NOT vegan couldn’t stop raving about them!
Question: do you think I could make this into a bread instead?
I’ve made this recipe standard-sized loaf pan and had it turn around great! Cooked for ~45 minutes.
How come it didn’t work for me???
Cocktail stick always came out covered in cake mix. even after 45 minutes. I just get a squishy mess inside a hard chewy case.
What am I doing wrong??
@lynleih, if the temp of your oven is correct, my guess would be that you are overmixing the batter. Muffins are notorious for wanting only the barest mixing, metal spoon rather than elec beaters are best.