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Orange Cranberry Muffins, easy to make and delicious! Perfect for a breakfast treat or an afternoon snack! Using Mazola® Corn Oil and Greek yogurt, these tasty muffins are the best!
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Orange Cranberry Muffins
Did you know September is National Cholesterol Awareness month? In honor of that, I thought I’d share this tasty muffin recipe using Mazola Corn Oil! A clinical study showed Mazola Corn Oil reduces cholesterol 2x more than extra virgin olive oil. To learn more about this claim, see Mazola.com. 
Mazola Corn Oil is an all-purpose, cholesterol free cooking oil that is a smart heart-healthy* choice for your family. *See Mazola.com for more information on the relationship between corn oil and heart health. It has a variety of uses including baking, grilling, sautéing, stir frying, or mixing up a marinade or dressing.
Since I was already lightening up the recipe by using Mazola Corn Oil in lieu of butter, I thought it would be great to try some more swaps. I used Greek yogurt instead of regular yogurt or sour cream, and used fresh/frozen cranberries instead of candied/dried ones. And you know what? These are some of the tastiest muffins I’ve ever had! Pretty cool, right?!
How to make Orange Cranberry Muffins:
- Combine the dry ingredients (except the zest and cranberries) in a medium sized bowl.
- Combine the wet ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Mix the wet and dry ingredients together.
- Fold in the cranberries and orange zest.
- Scoop batter into lined muffin baking tray.
- Bake for 17-19 minutes.
- Dip tops in sugar and enjoy!
These cranberry muffins are really that simple! 
Should I use fresh or store-bought orange juice?
Orange juice can be fresh or store bought, but since you will need zest from oranges, you might as well use the juice from them! Also, if you squeeze your two oranges and it comes up a little short of ¾ cups, just add a little water to make it the full amount.
Do I have to use orange extract? I don’t have any.
Orange extract is optional but recommended to give these muffins that extra orange flavor. That being said, I’ve made these muffins both with and without the extract, and they are both tasty. 
How many oranges will give me 2 tbs of orange zest?
Two large oranges should be enough. I also recommend zesting the oranges before juicing them – it’s way easier.
My cranberries are frozen. Should I thaw them before adding them to the batter?
Nope! If cranberries are frozen, don’t thaw them. Just put them in the batter as is. 
How should I store the orange cranberry muffins?
I recommend storing them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Eat within 3-5 days. Also, if you sprinkle or dip the tops in sugar, it will dissolve over time. I recommend either adding more sugar before serving if this happens or waiting to add the sugar until you are ready to serve. 
Cranberry and orange are some of my absolute favorite combos, and these muffins are out of this world good! Make sure to check out these other delicious recipes:
- Orange Buttermilk Scones
- Blueberry Coffee Cake
- Cinnamon Roll French Toast
- Breakfast Egg Cups
- Breakfast Tacos
- Orange Smoothie
- The Best Breakfast Burrito
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Orange Cranberry Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2/3 cup Mazola Corn Oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cups greek yogurt
- ¾ cup orange juice*
- 1 tbs orange extract* optional
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbs orange zest*
- 2 cups frozen/fresh cranberries*
- Extra sugar for the tops optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- Combine together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a bowl. (2 cups flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup brown sugar, ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda)
- In a separate bowl combine together the corn oil, eggs, greek yogurt, orange juice, orange extract if using, and vanilla extract. Make sure everything becomes fully incorporated and smooth. (2/3 cup corn oil, 2 large eggs, 2/3 cups Greek yogurt, ¾ cup orange juice, 1 tbs orange extract, 2 tsp vanilla extract)
- Mix together the flour mixture with the wet ingredients. Then fold in the orange zest and cranberries. (2 tbs orange zest, 2 cups cranberries)
- Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3rds full with batter and bake for 17-19 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown on top and a tooth pick comes out clean from the center.
- Allow to cool then sprinkle or dip the muffin tops into coarse granulated sugar or leave the sugar off if you want less sweetness.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Oh yes! These muffins look amazing!
Thanks! I love them!
I love them and so did my company,Thank You
Yay! So glad you enjoyed them!!
How to get zest from oranges ? Can you tell I am a newbie in baking?
That’s a great question! If you have a cheese grater you can use that to “zest” an orange. Simply grate the orange peel all the way around- but only grate the very outermost area- just the orange part. If you grate more than that you will get into the white pith part of the peel and it is bitter. Typically to zest an orange you would use a microplane which is very similar to a cheese grater except the holes are much smaller- and actually many cheese graters have holes of different sizes so you can try the different options. If you go for a normal sized hole on a cheese grater you can use a knife to then chop the grated peel smaller if you want. Also, it’s easiest to zest/grate an orange before you cut it/ when it is still round and whole. Hope that helps!