Cranberry Bliss Muffins
These Cranberry Bliss Muffins are inspired by those delicious Cranberry Bliss Bars at Starbucks. They are sweet homemade muffins that combine the perfect combo of cranberry, orange and white chocolate!
SWEET MUFFINS WITH A POP OF CRANBERRIES
If you’re looking for a delicious and easy-to-make muffin recipe that’s a perfect addition to any breakfast or brunch spread (or even dessert!), try making these Cranberry Bliss Muffins! Combining the tartness of cranberries and the sweetness of white chocolate, then topped with a rich and creamy glaze, these muffins are sure to be a hit no matter where they’re served. These festive muffins are great for the holidays, but simple enough to whip up so you can enjoy them all year round!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Sure, you can use them instead. But, I think you’ll really be losing a bit of flavor and delicious texture in these muffins.
Of course! Feel free to double the recipe and you can add way more than just a little drizzle of glaze to each muffin. You could even dip the top of each muffin into the glaze to cover the whole top.
That’s normal. This glaze actually isn’t supposed to fully set, it will certainly get stiff but won’t be a hard set like cookie frosting.
For this recipe, you will need 2 ounces of cream cheese. When you open up the packaging of cream cheese, you will see hashmarks on the silver packaging covering the cream cheese. Each block of cream cheese is 8 ounces. On that packaging, you will see marks for each ounce of cream cheese in the block. Just go to the 2 ounce mark and cut.
These muffins should be refrigerated since we used cream cheese in the glaze. They’ll last up to a week in the refrigerator in a container, but they actually taste best when they’re at room temperature. So you can let them sit at room temperature until the chill is gone or you can pop them in the microwave before serving again. Your other option is to skip the glaze so they can be stored at room temperature. They are still fabulous without the glaze.
Yes! These muffins will last 3 months in a freezer safe container.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- all-purpose flour – you could also use cake flour if you have it. I don’t usually sift the flour but it is important that you measure it properly or you’ll end up with too much flour which will make your muffins dry. Do not measure from the flour bag. Pour it into a large bowl and stir. Then dip your measuring cup into the flour (do not pack it in) then take the flat end of a butter knife then scoop off the excess.
- baking powder – it is important you make sure your baking powder is fresh and still active. If it is old or no longer fresh, your muffins will not rise properly.
- light brown sugar – unlike flour, you want to pack light brown sugar into your measuring cup.
- eggs – if you have time, allow the eggs to come to room temperature. This helps them to incorporate into the batter easier and produces tender, lighter muffins.
- sour cream – you could also use plain Greek yogurt. This gives these homemade muffins incredible moistness and tenderness – don’t skip it.
- orange zest and fresh orange juice – it needs to be a fresh orange here. When peeling orange zest, it is important you do not include the pith (the white part) as this is very bitter.
- milk – I usually use whole milk. It has enough fat in it to add wonderful moistness to the batter.
- vanilla extract –
- fresh cranberries – you could use frozen but you will need to make sure they are dried so the excess moisture doesn’t thin out the muffin batter.
- white chocolate chips– you’ll be using these in the muffins and the icing.
- coarse sugar – optional but really gives the muffins a nice crunch and a tad more sweetness. You can swap this out for white sugar if needed or just leave it out all together.
- cream cheese – make sure it is fully softened to room temperature or you’ll end up with a lumpy glaze.
- powdered sugar – like flour, some folks like to sift it to remove any hard bits. I usually do not do this but that is up to you.
HOW TO MAKE CRANBERRY BLISS MUFFINS
Preheat the oven to 425°F. Prepare the muffin tin by either placing paper liners in a 12-count muffin tin or using baking spray to coat the cups. Set it aside. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt. Set this bowl aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the oil and brown sugar until they are well combined.
Add the eggs to the large bowl and whisk until the mixture becomes smooth. Now, add the sour cream to the large bowl and whisk until everything is smooth.
Add the orange zest, orange juice, milk, and vanilla extract to the large bowl. Whisk until the mixture is smooth. Gradually add the flour mixture from the medium-sized bowl into the large bowl with the wet ingredients. Stir everything together until there are no dry spots left.
Gently fold in the cranberries and white chocolate chips into the large bowl mixture. Divide the muffin batter evenly among the muffin cups that you prepared earlier.
If you want a little extra sweetness and crunch, sprinkle some coarse sugar on top of each muffin. Place the muffin tin in the preheated oven at 425°F for 5 minutes. Then, reduce the temperature to 350°F and continue baking for another 16-18 minutes until the muffins turn golden brown. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of a muffin; it should come out mostly clean.
Allow the muffins to cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes. Then, carefully remove them from the tin and let them cool completely on a wire rack.
While the muffins are cooling, prepare the glaze. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the cream cheese and white chocolate. Gradually add powdered sugar to the mixture, stirring until it becomes thick and smooth.
Add milk to the glaze and stir until it reaches your desired drizzling consistency. If it’s too thick, add a little more milk. Finally, drizzle the glaze on top of the cooled muffins.
Enjoy!
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Cranberry Bliss Muffins
Ingredients
For the muffins:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ¾ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 2 large eggs (room temperature)
- ½ cup sour cream
- 1 Tablespoon orange zest
- 1 Tablespoon fresh squeezed orange juice
- 1 Tablespoon milk
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups cranberries
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 Tablespoon coarse sugar (optional)
For the glaze:
- 2 ounces cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 2 Tablespoons melted white chocolate
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Prepare the muffin tin by either placing paper liners in a 12-count muffin tin or using baking spray to coat the cups. Set it aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt. Set this bowl aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the oil and brown sugar until they are well combined.
- Add the eggs to the large bowl and whisk until the mixture becomes smooth.
- Now, add the sour cream to the large bowl and whisk until everything is smooth.
- Add the orange zest, orange juice, milk, and vanilla extract to the large bowl. Whisk until the mixture is smooth.
- Gradually add the flour mixture from the medium-sized bowl into the large bowl with the wet ingredients. Stir everything together until there are no dry spots left.
- Gently fold in the cranberries and white chocolate chips into the large bowl mixture.
- Divide the muffin batter evenly among the muffin cups that you prepared earlier.
- If you want a little extra sweetness and crunch, sprinkle some coarse sugar on top of each muffin.
- Place the muffin tin in the preheated oven at 425°F for 5 minutes. Then, reduce the temperature to 350°F and continue baking for another 16-18 minutes until the muffins turn golden brown. Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of a muffin; it should come out mostly clean.
- Allow the muffins to cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes. Then, carefully remove them from the tin and let them cool completely on a wire rack.
- While the muffins are cooling, prepare the glaze. In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the cream cheese and melted white chocolate chips.
- Gradually add powdered sugar to the mixture, stirring until it becomes thick and smooth.
- Add milk to the glaze and stir until it reaches your desired drizzling consistency. If it’s too thick, add a little more milk.
- Finally, drizzle the glaze on top of the cooled muffins.
- Then enjoy!
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
I made these only in cake pan form as I did not have time to do muffins. They were fabulous!! Just cooked it a while longer.
Yay!! Love hearing that!!