Eggless Cranberry Orange Muffins

These Eggless Cranberry Orange Muffins are moist, buttery, soft, and bursting with citrus flavor. Fluffy muffins are delicious, sweet with a slight tartness, easy to bake at home, and loaded with fresh cranberries!

The recipe for Eggless Cranberry Muffins couldn’t be easier. The batter comes together within a few minutes without an electric mixer, and the recipe is wonderful for breakfast or brunch on holidays!

Jump to:

• About Eggless Cranberry Orange Muffins
• Why You Will Love These Muffins
• Ingredients
• Step-by-Step Directions
• Storing Suggestions
• Helpful Tips
• Frequently Asked Questions
• More Eggless Muffins
• Recipe Card

About Eggless Cranberry Orange Muffins

I published the recipe for muffins with dried cranberries a long time ago. Since then, I have been waiting to share the recipe for fresh cranberry muffins.

Cranberry orange muffins are always a hit with my family and friends. They are robust in different flavors: sweet, buttery, tart from cranberries, and refreshing from orange juice and zest.

These muffins are light, fluffy, super moist, and topped with coarse sugar for a pleasant crunch. We can make the muffins with fresh or frozen cranberries for a quick treat on holidays.

The recipe is manageable and even easy for beginner bakers. We require very straightforward ingredients, and mixing the batter is pretty quick.

There is no need for an electric mixer to make the muffin batter. All you need are mixing bowls, a whisk, and a spatula. 

Why You Will Love These Muffins

• Eggless Cranberry Orange Muffins are tall and loaded with fresh cranberries.
• The muffins are moist, very tender, and fluffy.
• These muffins are bakery-style, buttery, and irresistible.
• Fresh Cranberry Muffins are bursting with fresh orange flavor and absolutely delicious.
• The recipe is easy to follow with basic baking ingredients and perfect for the holidays.
• These muffins are eggless without any fancy egg replacers.

Ingredients

1. All-Purpose Flour: Flour is a vital ingredient for muffins. I always use unbleached all-purpose flour and recommend the same.
2. Baking Powder and Baking Soda: These are necessary for the recipe as leavening agents.
3. Salt: It gives a nice contrast to the sweetness of the muffins.
4. Butter: We need unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled. Do not overheat the butter; you can microwave the butter at high for 30 to 35 seconds. Or heat the butter in the pan over the stovetop only until it starts melting. 
5. Sugar: I have used granulated and light brown sugar for these muffins. You can use dark brown sugar instead of light, or use all granulated sugar.
6. Orange Juice: Adding orange juice provides bright and fresh flavors to the muffins.
7. Orange Zest: First, zest the orange and then squeeze the juice.
8. Milk + Vinegar: A mixture of milk and vinegar provides DIY buttermilk. Buttermilk provides moisture and fluffiness to the muffins. However, if you have store-bought buttermilk, you can use it instead of making it at home.
9. Vanilla: Adds sweet and warm flavors to the muffins.
10. Cranberries: I have added fresh cranberries, but frozen cranberries can also be used without thawing. Also, I have chopped cranberries into halves for even distribution. But it is optional, and you can add whole cranberries, especially if you use frozen.
11. Coarse or Sparkling Sugar: It provides a delicious crunch to the muffins, but it is optional, and skip if you do not have it.

Step-by-Step Directions

• Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
• Line the muffin pan with paper liners and lightly grease with non-stick spray.
• Set it aside.
• Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl and whisk until well combined.

• Fold cranberries into the flour mixture and gently mix well.
• I have chopped the cranberries into halves, but you can use whole cranberries.
• Set aside.

• In a medium bowl, take melted butter, granulated and brown sugar, orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla.
• Whisk everything well until the mixture is smooth.

• To this, add the milk and vinegar mixture and stir well.

• Pour wet ingredients into the dry mixture and mix gently until everything is well incorporated.
• Do not over-mix.

• Spoon the batter into the muffin pan, filling each tin all the way to the top.
• Top with coarse sugar if you desire.

• Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F (220°C), and then, while keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (180°C).
• Continue baking for 15-18 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Remove the muffins from the oven and let them cool in the pan for 5 minutes.
• Then, transfer them onto a cooling rack and let them cool completely before serving.

Storing Suggestions

• Eggless Cranberry Muffins stay at room temperature, tightly covered, for three days.
• Refrigerate the leftover muffins in an airtight container for up to a week. Then, bring the muffins to room temperature before serving.

Helpful Tips

• Measuring The Ingredients: Correctly measure the flour and other ingredients for the perfect muffins. I suggest using a kitchen scale. If using the cup method, fluff your flour with the spoon and then spoon it into a measuring cup. Then, level it off with the knife.
• Buttermilk: It makes the muffins extra tender and moist. I have used a mixture of milk and vinegar, but if you have a store-bought buttermilk, use it.
• Butter: Melt the butter and let it cool down slightly before mixing it with other ingredients. If you want to use oil instead of butter, you can use any neutral-flavored oil.
• Cranberries: If you do not have fresh cranberries, use frozen. And if you use frozen cranberries, do not thaw them. Also, I chopped the fresh cranberries into halves for even distribution. But it is optional, and you can use whole cranberries, especially if you use frozen.
• Filling The Muffin Tins: Fill the muffin tins all the way to the top for the tall muffin tops. This way, the muffins will rise well and have nice domed muffin tops.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Skip Orange Juice, Or How Do I Replace It?

Orange juice adds a refreshing note to cranberry muffins. However, you can skip orange juice and replace it with water or milk.

Can I Use Dried Cranberries Instead Of Fresh?

Dried cranberries can be used to make muffins. And I have a separate recipe post for muffins with dried cranberries. Please check the Dried Cranberry Orange Muffins (Eggless) recipe!

Why Are My Muffins Dense and/or Dry?

While mixing dry ingredients into wet, do not overmix. Overmixing the batter develops gluten, destroys air bubbles, and ruins the fluffy texture. And that results in dry, dense, and hard muffins.

To ensure the light and fluffy muffins, mix dry and wet ingredients until just combined and no more dry flour is visible. Also, after removing the muffins from the oven, do not leave them in the pan for too long. Once they are slightly cool, transfer them to a cooling rack. Otherwise, they will continue cooking in the pan, resulting in dry muffins.

Why Do My Muffins Stick To The Paper Liners?

Sometimes, even if we use paper liners to make muffins, they still stick to the liners; removing them is hard. To avoid this, grease the paper liners with oil or melted butter before pouring the batter into them. And if you add the batter directly into the muffin tins, make sure to grease the muffin tins well.

More Eggless Muffins

You May Like More Citrus Flavor Recipes

• Orange Almond Cake (Eggless)
• Orange Raisin Soda Bread (Eggless)
• Lemon Pound Cake (Eggless) / Lemon Loaf Cake
• Cranberry Orange Scones (Eggless)
• Eggless Lemon Cookies / Lemon Cookies Recipe

Recipe Card