These Cranberry Sauce Muffins are perfect for when you find yourself with leftover cranberry sauce! Impossibly soft and fluffy pumpkin muffins are swirled with cranberry sauce and topped with a cinnamon coffee cake streusel that will leave you swooning!
I’m going to go ahead and declare these my new favorite muffins. It’s a bold statement, but HOLY COW these are amazing!
The muffin itself is reminiscent of the most amazing soft and tender cupcake and makes the perfect base for a hearty dollop of your favorite cranberry sauce.
To offset any tartness from the sauce, I opted for my beloved cinnamon coffee cake streusel on top.
Love a good bakery style muffin? These will rock your face!
Pumpkin Cranberry Sauce Muffins with Cinnamon Coffee Cake sTREUSEL
It’s a mouthful of a title for a mouthful of deliciousness!
In case you don’t have a ton of leftover cranberry sauce to work with, I made this muffin recipe to yield a smaller batch.
If you use tulip-style muffin wrappers like I did (I love how they give them extra room to rise super tall) you’ll end up with 6 bakery-style muffins that are around 3 inches high from the bottom of the muffin to the top of the dome. I highly suggest using them for these muffins so you can pile on the cran/streusel toppings without them falling off to the sides.
If using standard parchment muffin liners you will make 8-9 muffins. Simply adjust the bake time by checking for doneness a several minutes earlier.
Need a dozen muffins to feed your crew? The recipe is easily doubled!
CINNAMON COFFEE CAKE STREUSEL
prevent your screen from going dark
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Preheat oven to 400℉.
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Line a 6 or 12 cavity muffin tin with 6 tulip-style parchment paper liners (tall bakery muffins) or 8-9 standard parchment paper liners. Set aside.
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Set out milk, egg, and cranberry sauce to reach room temperature.
MAKE THE STREUSEL
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Do this step first to allow the streusel time to dry out a bit.
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Melt butter.
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In a small bowl combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Mix well.
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Pour butter over streusel mixture and mix with a fork until it resembles small crumbs.
PREP MUFFIN BATTER
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Add wet ingredients to a large mixing bowl: pumpkin, eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla. Next add 1/2 cup of granulated sugar and mix well with a metal whisk.
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In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl. Mix to evenly distribute ingredients.
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Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and stir with metal whisk until ingredients are evenly incorporated but not overmixed. Batter will be thick with a few small lumps remaining.
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OPTIONAL: for extra tall muffins, allow batter to rest for 15-20 minutes.
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Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups, adding a little over ¼ cup to each when making 6 tall muffins *OR* around 3 TBSP if making 8-9 smaller muffins.
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Top each muffin with cranberry sauce and gently spread it in an even layer.
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Top each muffin with streusel.
READY TO BAKE?
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Place muffin tray on the center rack with oven preheated to 400℉. As soon as you close the door, reduce the heat to 350℉. For 6 tall muffins: Bake for 24-26 minutes, checking for doneness with a toothpick inserted to the center of the muffin. For 8-9 smaller muffins, check muffins at 22-23 minutes.
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Allow muffins 10 minutes to cool in the pan for best results. Then remove and transfer to a wire cooling rack to finish cooling before diving in. (Flavors will be more pronounced once fully cooled.) Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts below are estimated per muffin (when making 6 muffins) using an online recipe nutrition calculator. Adjust as needed and enjoy!
Calories: 368kcal, Carbohydrates: 50g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 10g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 38mg, Sodium: 212mg, Potassium: 153mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 27g, Vitamin A: 3361IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 59mg, Iron: 2mg
Serve them up for breakfast, brunch, or simply keep them around for seasonal snacking! The muffins will keep fresh in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
New to baking? Here are some Tips!
Weighing flour and sugar in grams can save on time and yields the most accurate results.
I keep a tiny digital kitchen scale in my junk drawer and it has totally revolutionized my baking.
If you aren’t the proud owner of a digital kitchen scale, go ahead and put one on your holiday wish list and use the fluff/spoon/scrape technique to measure the flour. First fluff the flour in the container to aerate then gently spoon the fluffed flour into the measuring cup. Use a knife to scrape the top level without packing the flour into the cup.
I mentioned before that tulip style muffin liners are a fantastic for extra-tall bakery style muffins and I highly recommend them for this rockin’ recipe. Sam from Sugar Spun Run has a fantastic tutorial on how to make your own tulip liners from sheets of parchment paper with a helpful video too.
Q: What kind of cranberry sauce should I use?
Whole berry or blended cranberry sauce works great here. The only kind I would avoid is the jellied cranberry sauce that keeps the shape of the can. Both homemade or store-bought cranberry sauces can be used for these muffins.
I have both a Crockpot Cranberry Sauce and a Stove Top Cranberry Sauce if you need a recipe. This year I made mine in advance and froze it so I will have a nice big bowl for Thanksgiving as well as some extra to make these muffins on repeat. Yay!
Q: What kind of pumpkin should I use?
I have had the best results with Libby’s Pumpkin Puree as well as the store brand canned pumpkin from Target, Publix, and Kroger.
Q: Can I use something other than avocado oil?
Whichever mild-tasting oil that you typically use for baking will absolutely work here such as canola oil or vegetable oil. Avocado oil is my favorite for baking and I typically buy extra when it’s on sale.
Whether you make a small batch or double the recipe for a full dozen, if you get a chance to try these Pumpkin Cranberry Sauce Muffins, let me know!
Leave me a comment here (LOVE checking those daily!) and tag @PEASandCRAYONS on Instagram so I can happy dance over your tasty creations. I can’t wait to see your marvelous muffins!
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