{Sweet & Juicy} The BEST Lemon Cranberry Muffins
Sweet. Tangy. Juicy. Not your average muffin. These bakery-style Lemon Cranberry muffins are simple to make, bursting with cranberries, and are sure to brighten your day!
My tried and true Lemon Cranberry Muffins are made with a moist and zesty lemon muffin recipe, are exploding with juicy cranberries, and are topped with a delicate sugar crunch! They are the warm, freshly baked snack, you have been craving!
Though often associated with winter baking (fresh cranberries are well stocked for winter holiday celebrations!) these Lemon Cranberry Muffins can easily be made with frozen cranberries, year round, without losing any of that sweet, juicy, and tangy flavour we all know and love!
To make these muffins you will need:
- Flour
- Sugar
- Oil
- Milk
- Eggs
- Citrus: lemon juice, orange juice, lemon zest
- Cranberries (Fresh or Frozen)
- **Baking essentials: Baking powder, salt, vanilla extract
Let’s make the BEST lemon cranberry muffins! (For detailed recipe with measurements and instructions – scroll to the bottom of this page!)
Preheat oven to 425°F (400F for convection oven). Prepare a 12 muffin tray with paper liners or non-stick cooking spray (note: to allow more space for muffins to grow even bigger – use two cupcake/muffin trays instead of one, spacing out muffin liners so that only six are used in each tray).
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt to aerate.
Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, sugar, eggs, milk, lemon juice, orange juice, vanilla extract, and lemon zest (optional).
Pour egg mixture on top of flour mixture, stir to incorporate.
Mix until just combined, be careful not to over mix or muffins may become gummy.
In a small bowl, add 1 tbsp flour to the fresh/frozen cranberries. Stir to coat cranberries with flour. Fold cranberries into muffin mixture.
Divide the batter into the 12 prepared muffin cups. Decorate with a few additional cranberries and coarse sugar on top.
Bake at 425°F (400F convection oven) for 8 minutes, then reduce the oven temp to 375°F(350F convection oven) and bake for another 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out with a few crumbs attached. I used convection settings and my muffins were perfect after 27 minutes at 350F.
Let muffins cool for 5-10 minutes in muffin tins then cool completely on wire racks.
Enjoy!!
Like fruity desserts?! You may like these tangy summer treats!
The BEST Lemon Cranberry Muffins
Ingredients
- 3 cups All-purpose Flour + additional 1 tbsp (to add to cranberries)
- 4 tsp Baking Powder
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup Vegetable/Canola Oil
- 1/2 cup Milk I typically use 2% m.f. or higher
- 1 3/4 cups Granulated Sugar
- 2 Eggs large
- 1/4 cup Lemon Juice
- zest of 1 lemon optional
- 1/4 cup Orange Juice
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract or vanilla bean paste
- 2 1/2 cups Fresh or Frozen Cranberries Remove any old/squishy fresh cranberries and DO NOT thaw frozen cranberries!!
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (400F for convection oven). Prepare a baking tray with 12 muffin cups with either paper liners or non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt to aerate. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the vegetable oil, sugar, eggs, milk, lemon juice, orange juice, vanilla extract, and lemon zest.
- Pour egg mixture on top of flour mixture, stir to incorporate. Mix until just combined, be careful not to over mix or muffins may become gummy.
- In a small bowl, add 1 tbsp flour to the fresh/frozen cranberries. Stir to coat cranberries with flour. Fold cranberries into muffin mixture.
- Divide the batter into the 12 prepared muffin cups. Decorate with a few additional cranberries and coarse sugar on top.
- Bake at 425°F (400F convection oven) for 8 minutes, then reduce the oven temp to 375°F(350F convection oven) and bake for another 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out with a few crumbs attached. I recommend 20 minutes at 375F, check the muffins – if not done, put them in for an additional 5 minutes at a time, checking after each. (note: I used convection settings and frozen cranberries and my muffins were perfect after 27 minutes at 350F).
- Cool for 5-10 minutes in muffin tins then let cool completely on wire rack.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- To allow more space for muffins to rise – use two cupcake/muffin trays instead of one – spacing out muffin liners so that only six are used in each tray)
- DO NOT defrost frozen cranberries before adding them to the muffin batter!
- Frozen cranberries may need ~3 minutes additional baking time compared to fresh
- If using dried cranberries – be sure to first let them soak for 10 minutes in hot water, pat dry, and then add to batter.
- These muffins can be frozen in an air-tight freezer bag for up to 6 months! Simply defrost at room temperature, and warm for a few minutes in the oven for that freshly baked muffin warmth!
- Enjoy!
I just made these, I found the temperature on regular bake high and they were burnt too dark around the edges , they were also done alot quicker then expected. I will lower the temps next time by 25 degrees on both. I do have an oven thermometer and it was on temp. That said these were delicious !!