Cranberry Orange Muffins

If winter had a designated flavor duo to represent itself, cranberries and oranges would hands down be the winner (at least in my book!).

Cranberry orange is high on my list of flavor combinations and I love to take advantage of it in the winter! One of my favorite ways to use this combo is in scones. And I know what you’re thinking, “Becca, this is a muffin recipe.” But what had happened was, I miscalculated cups to grams for the flour part of my recipe and scones just weren’t going to happen.

By the time I discovered by unfortunate error, there really wasn’t any coming back from it. So I threw my dough in the fridge and waited until the next morning to regroup. I baked off a small portion of the dough and discovered that while I had failed at making a scone, I had done a pretty dang good job at making a muffin! It was so good I couldn’t not share!

What you’ll need:
– 1/2 cup orange juice
– 1 Tablespoon orange zest
– 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
– 1 T vanilla
-2 cups flour (240 grams)
– 1/3 cup sugar (67 grams)
– 1 Tablespoon baking powder
– 1/2 teaspoon salt
– 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
– 1/2 cold cup butter, diced
– 1 cup cranberries (100 grams)
– Coarse sugar for topping, optional

What you’ll do:
– Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
– Whisk together orange juice and zest, yogurt, and vanilla and place in the refrigerator.
– Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl.
– Cut butter into the flour mixture using a dough cutter (two knives, a food processor, or just your fingers work too!) until mixture is crumbly.
– Toss in cranberries so that they are coated in the flour.
– Slowly drizzle the wet mixture into flour mixture, using a fork to constantly toss. As you slowly add in the wet mixture, target the dryer areas to keep things more evenly distributed. Continue tossing with a fork until everything is evenly moistened (you won’t be stirring, just gently tossing).
– Evenly divide the batter between 12 muffins and sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired. Place in the refrigerator while you preheat your oven to 350F.
– Bake for about 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and cooked all the way through.
– Cool for as long as you can stand it and ENJOY!