Orange Cranberry Muffins

Prep Time: 20 mins | Cook Time: 30 mins | Course: Breakfast | Yield: 24

Bright orange and fresh cranberries burst with flavor in these cardamom and nutmeg spiced muffins topped with a crunchy pecan and cranberry streusel. Delightful in both the large muffin or mini-size. Inspired by Ashley Manila of Baker by Nature https://bakerbynature.com/bakery-style-cranberry-orange-muffins/ 

½ cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

⅓ cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp orange zest

2 eggs

1 Tbsp vanilla

½ tsp orange extract

3 cups flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp nutmeg, freshly grated is best

½ tsp cardamom

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

1 cup sour cream

⅓ cup orange juice

Cranberry Pecan Streusel:

½ cup flour 

½ cup pecans

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup fresh or frozen cranberries

1 tsp orange zest

½ tsp cardamom

½ cup butter

Preheat the oven to 375*. Spray oil or butter a standard muffin tin or mini muffin tin as desired. In a stand mixer, beat the butter, sugar, brown sugar, and orange zest together until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in the eggs, vanilla, and orange extract and mix together. 

In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cardamom, and cranberries. Pour over the batter and measure in the sour cream and orange juice. Mix until the batter just comes together being careful to not over-mix. Unhook the paddle and finish scraping in any bits of flour with a rubber scraper. 

Layer streusel ingredients in a food processor and pulse to coarse crumbs. 

Fill muffin tin wells about ¾ of the way full.  Pack 1 tablespoon of streusel over the muffin batter and tamp it down a bit. Bake a regular muffin tin for 25-30 minutes or for mini muffins 12-15 minutes. Mini muffins yield about 5 dozen mini-muffins. Muffins will be golden and batter free when tested with a toothpick. An insta-thermometer will read a minimum of 200*.