Every year I buy bags and bags of fresh cranberries around Thanksgiving and it never fails that I use 1 for cranberry relish on Thanksgiving day and then have a bunch of bags leftover.
In the past, I’ve made scones and a cake, both of which we all enjoyed, but I thought I’d try something that I could put into the freezer for when our new bundle of joy arrives – and I found Cranberry Buttermilk Muffins.
I wanted something that was fairly simple and that would freeze well. These fit the bill for both of those requests AND it used up a fair amount of the buttermilk that I always seem to have sitting around, too.
Cranberry Buttermilk Muffins are tender, have a perfect tartness from the cranberries, and are not overly sweet otherwise. I definitely enjoy a sweet morning treat now and then but these are great for everyday, with a little coffee or orange juice.
Ingredients
- 1 cup cranberries, coarsely chopped
- ¾ cup granulated sugar, divided
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 ½ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter, cold
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 tsp. orange zest
- 2 tbsp. freshly squeezed orange juice
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (180C) and grease 18 muffin cups (the ingredients are listed for 18 muffins, but you can adjust it); set them aside.
- In a small bowl, combine cranberries and ¼ cup sugar; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, remaining sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In another medium bowl, cut butter into dry ingredients using a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.
- In a liquid measuring cup, lightly beat together buttermilk, egg, orange zest, and orange juice.
- Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients, and add sweetened cranberries, stirring the mixture until just moistened; do not over mix, as muffins will not rise well enough.
- Divide muffins batter evenly between prepared 18 muffins cups, filling about 2/3 full.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until a tester or a toothpick comes out with only moist crumbs attached.
- Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack and let them cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container.
