World's Best Gluten-Free Cranberry Orange Muffins

Discover an easy tip to make the best, moist, and extra fluffy gluten-free cranberry orange muffins recipe! They have an extra boost of zesty flavor from an orange glaze frosting and can be made with fresh, frozen, or even dried cranberries. Dairy-free modifications included.

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 20

Total Time 40

Servings muffins

Author Melissa Erdelac

Ingredients

8 tablespoons unsalted butter melted and cooled (see recipe notes for dairy-free)
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup sour cream or yogurt full fat preferred (see recipe notes for dairy-free)
3 large eggs room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
zest of 2 oranges
2 ¼ cup gluten free all purpose flour I recommend Cup4Cup GF flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cup fresh or frozen cranberries halved (see recipe notes for using dried)

Orange Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar
3 tablespoons orange juice (from zested oranges)

Instructions

Melt the butter so it has time to cool before mixing with the other ingredients. Line standard-size muffin cups with paper liners or grease with nonstick cooking spray. The oven preheats later while the muffin batter rests. (This allows time for the gluten-free starches to soften and hydrate with the liquids.)
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
In a large bowl whisk together the cooled butter, sugar, brown sugar, yogurt or sour cream, eggs, vanilla extract, and orange zest.
½ cup granulated sugar, ½ cup sour cream or yogurt, 3 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, zest of 2 oranges, ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
Stir in the gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until no flour pockets remain. The batter will be thick. Gently fold in the halved cranberries until evenly distributed.
2 ¼ cup gluten free all purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, 1 ½ cup fresh or frozen cranberries
Preheat the oven to 350°F. While the oven is preheating, use a large trigger scoopto distribute the batter between the muffin cups. Use slightly wet fingers to pat down the tops evenly. If desired, gently press in additional halved cranberries on top.
Let the muffins rest for about 15 minutes at room temp while the oven preheats. This gives time for the moisture to saturate the GF starches and build up a nice fluffy muffin structure.
Bake for 20-22 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the muffin pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool while the glaze is prepared.
For the glaze, mix together the powdered sugar and orange juice in a small bowl. It should be thin enough to drizzle over the tops, but not so thin it doesn't stick on top. Add additional powdered sugar or juice to adjust the consistency. Place a piece of wax paper under the cooling rack to catch any drips. Use a small spoon to drizzle the glaze over the tops. Let the frosting set before storing.
1 cup powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons orange juice

Notes

Using Frozen or Dried Cranberries

If you want to make these muffins when fresh cranberries aren’t available, look in your freezer section. Coarsely chop the cranberries and then add, still frozen, to the batter. Please note, substituting frozen cranberries increases the baking time.

Instead of fresh or frozen you may use 1 cup dried cranberries for this recipe. For best results, soak them in 1/2 cup boiling water for 5 minutes to plump and hydrate them before draining and folding in batter.

storing and freezing

Once they have completely cooled and frosting has set, store in an airtight container up to 2 days at room temperature. Do not store in the fridge, or they will dry out.

For optimal freshness, I freeze gluten-free muffin leftovers right away since they don’t stay fresh as long. Wrap the muffins in plastic wrap and place in a freezer safe container up to 3 months.

dairy-free muffins

Even with the addition of butter and yogurt, these muffins can easily be made into a dairy-free recipe as well!

Replace the yogurt with coconut or almond milk yogurt, the higher fat content the better. For the butter use vegan butter sticks, but cut the salt to ¼ teaspoon. You may also use melted coconut oil.

Please note, some gluten-free flour blends contain milk powder. Be sure to read ingredient labels for dairy-free muffins.

Nutrition