Orange Cranberry Muffins

By Beth Moncel

These Orange Cranberry Muffins are a holiday staple in my house and extras can be frozen for a quick treat whenever the craving hits. 

Ingredients

• 1 large orange, zested and juiced ($1.00)
• 1.5 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.02)
• 1.5 Tbsp white sugar ($0.3)
• 1/8 tsp salt ($0.02)
• 2 Tbsp butter, melted ($0.26)
• 6 Tbsp all-purpose flour ($0.05)
• 2 cups flour ($0.27)
• 1 cup white sugar ($0.32)
• 1.5 tsp baking powder ($0.06)
• 1/2 tsp baking soda ($0.01)
• 1 tsp salt ($0.05)
• 4 Tbsp butter ($0.52)
• 1 large egg ($0.27)
• 1.5 cups fresh cranberries ($0.50)
• Butter and flour for coating the muffin tin ($0.15)
• Butter and flour for coating the muffin tin ($0.15)

Instructions

1. 1

   Use a zester or small holed cheese grater to remove the zest from the orange. Squeeze as much juice from the orange as possible. You'll need at least 1/2 cup, but no more than 3/4 cup juice. Set the zest and juice aside until they are needed. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

2. 2

   Create the streusel first so it's ready to go on the muffins as soon as the batter is mixed. In a small bowl stir together the brown sugar, white sugar, 1/4 tsp of the orange zest, salt, and melted butter. Once mixed, add the flour and stir to combine again until the flour creates a sort of paste with the butter and sugar. Set the streusel aside.

3. 3

   In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt for the muffin batter. Once mixed, add 1/4 tsp orange zest and the butter in chunks, then work the butter and zest into the dry ingredients until the mixture is crumbly.

4. 4

   In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine the egg with 3/4 cup orange juice and whisk until the egg is incorporated. If you have slightly less than 3/4 juice from the orange, you can top it off with water to make 3/4 cup, but make sure you have at least 1/2 cup juice to maintain the flavor.

5. 5

   Pour the juice and egg mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients, and stir just until the mixture has moistened. Do not over stir. Add the cranberries (whole or chopped) and fold them into the batter.

6. 6

   Use about 1/2 Tbsp butter to coat the inside wells of a 12 muffin tin. Once coated in butter, spoon a little flour in each well and then tilt the tin until the flour coats all sides of each well. Dump out any excess flour.

7. 7

   Divide the muffin batter between the 12 wells in the muffin tin, then top with a generous sprinkle of the streusel topping (make sure it's in clumps). Bake the muffins for about 30 minutes, or until the muffins are golden brown on top. Let the muffins cool before loosening and removing them from the tin.