These Mini Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins are the perfect bite-sized treat! Each mini muffin is soft, fluffy, and oh so flavorful!
These darling mini muffins are perfect for your next brunch spread.
Also great for grab and go breakfasts, you’ll probably find yourself going back for another. And another. They’re just so flipping good!
Though they feature fresh cranberries, cranberry season is tragically short, so I highly suggest squirreling away some cranberries or cranberry sauce in your freezer so you can make them year round whenever the craving strikes.
This way you can dollop each mini muffin with a little cranberry sauce before piling on that magnificent cinnamon sugar streusel topping.
SO. FLIPPING. GOOD. Let’s get our muffin on!
Mini Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins
This marvelous mini muffin recipe yields approx. 16 bakery-style mini muffins. I’m so excited for you to try them!
Have a question about adjustments or variations? I’ve included some frequently asked questions (and answers) below the recipe card.
Find yourself with leftover muffins? That’s cause for celebration! They’ll stay soft and totally delicious for up to 3-4 days. The streusel will soften a little but it’s still so good!
TALL MUFFIN TIP: use mini tulip parchment liners to extend the size of your muffin tin vertically for extra tall and fluffy mini muffins.
Ready to get baking?
Let’s make some muffins!
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Preheat oven to 375℉.
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Line a large mini muffin tin with 16 mini tulip-style parchment paper liners. See notes for size variation.
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Set out milk and egg 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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Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups, adding 1.5 tablespoons of batter to each tall tulip liner.
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Top each muffin with a layer of chopped cranberries then a layer of streusel.
READY TO BAKE?
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Place muffin tray on the center rack with oven preheated to 375℉. Bake for 14 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
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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!
Using regular mini parchment liners instead of the tall tulip kind? You absolutely can! The muffins will still be tasty but will not be able to rise as high as the muffins in the photos. You will portion the batter into 20-24 lined mini muffin wells, filling each around 3/4 of the way max before adding cranberries and streusel. Check for doneness a few minutes earlier as they will be smaller and bake up faster.
Nutrition Facts below are estimated per tall-style mini muffin using an online recipe nutrition calculator. Adjust as needed and enjoy!
Calories: 139kcal, Carbohydrates: 19g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 6g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 14mg, Sodium: 91mg, Potassium: 60mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 10g, Vitamin A: 1262IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 22mg, Iron: 1mg
Q: Can I use cranberry sauce in place of fresh cranberries?
Heck yes you can! You will need around 1/2 cup of smooth or whole berry cranberry sauce to put a little kiss of sauce on each mini muffin.
I use cranberry sauce for both my Cranberry Sauce Muffins and Fluffy Pumpkin Cranberry Coffee Cake and adore it!
Q: Can i use dried cranberries?
Feel free to use dried cranberries if that’s what you have on hand. To make them extra juicy, soak dried cranberries in warm water for a few minutes until they plump up. Then chop and sprinkle on top of muffin batter before adding the streusel.
Q: Will this recipe work for larger muffins?
Prefer a standard sized muffin? This recipe easily makes either mini or regular sized muffins! The recipe will yield around 6 tall muffins using tulip liners or 8-9 muffins using standard liners.
Much like the minis, I have had the best results using those tall tulip style liners to get that extra rise for the muffins and to have room for all the tasty toppings. You can find them here: tulip-style muffin wrappers or make them at home out of regular parchment paper sheets. Mary has some awesome step-by-step photos of how to do this using parchment paper and a can of veggies or beans.
If you get a chance to try these mini pumpkin cranberry muffins, let me know. Leave me a comment or review using the form below. I’m always so excited to hear from you!
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