Cranberry Pecan Muffins-Great Bake Sale Idea

Tasty Cranberry Pecan Muffins are quick and easy with a perfect blend of tangy cranberries, crunchy pecans, and citrus zing! A family favorite for breakfast on the go and a bake sale contender!

Fresh Cranberry Pecan Muffins with hints of citrus are a holiday breakfast staple! Let’s not forget Cinnamon Roll Baked Oatmeal or Cinnamon Roll Blueberry Casserole. Speaking of casseroles, nothing says time saver like Breakfast Casserole w/Sausage Egg & Cheese, perfect when accompanied with bakery-style cranberry muffins!

Ingredients For Bakery Style Cranberry Muffins

You’ll really enjoy knowing that making this cranberry muffin recipe ahead of time is the best way to get beautiful high-domed muffins! Super simple pantry staples and frozen or fresh, in-season cranberries wow with crunchy pecans and orange zest! I’m ready, are you?

For specific amounts, please refer to the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.

• Dry Ingredients: All-Purpose Flour,* White Granulated Sugar, Packed Brown Sugar, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Salt, and Ground Cinnamon.
• Wet Ingredients: Milk, Cooled Melted Butter, Room Temperature Eggs, Vanilla Extract, and Orange Zest.
• Folded Ingredients: Fresh or Frozen Cranberries and Chopped Pecans.
• Muffin Top Garnish (Optional): Coarse Decorating Sugar and Whole Cranberries.

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How To Make Cranberry Muffins With Fresh Cranberries

This cranberry pecan muffin recipe is lovingly hand-mixed; no electrical appliances allowed! You need a couple of mixing bowls, a whisk, a wooden spoon, muffin liners, and muffin tins. And if you haven’t indulged, let Santa know you need a microplane for zesting citrus!

When you are making this recipe, you’ll want to use the full recipe at the bottom of the page.

1. Whisk all the dry ingredients in one bowl and all the wet ingredients in another.
2. Combine the two by hand, stirring just until combined.
3. Fold in the cranberries and chopped pecans.
4. Cover and allow the batter to rest for 15-60 minutes. 
5. Relax and enjoy a Creamy Bailey’s Irish Coffee so you and the batter both “rest!”
6. Scoop and fill cranberry muffin batter into lined muffin tin. 
7. Sprinkle muffin tops with coarse sugar and a few whole cranberries.
8. Bake at 425ºF for the first few minutes, reducing heat to 350°F for the remainder of the time.
9. Cool muffins in the tin for a few minutes, then serve warm or finish the cooling process on a wire rack.)

Secrets On How To Create Beautifully Domed Muffin Tops!

Ever wonder why homemade muffin tops never seem as highly rounded and professional looking as bakery-style ones you get at your local brew cafe? I did! And come to find out, there are some very distinct and, should I say, counterintuitive reasons for this outcome! Luckily some of the best-kept secrets of baked goods gurus are not so secret anymore!

Top Secrets for High-Domed Muffin Tops

Secret #1: LET IT SIT! Listen, 15 minutes is good, but 30 minutes is better, and frankly, an hour at least or overnight is actually best! There are a couple of things going on that will give you a gorgeous high-domed muffin top!

First, the gluten proteins in the flour relax (become stretchy and pliable) as they absorb moisture. Second, while this is happening, the baking soda and baking powder are creating gases (CO2,) causing the cranberry pecan muffin batter to expand. (Which it does because the gluten strings are stretchy! Cool, huh?)

Secret #2: COOL IT OFF! When letting cranberry muffin batter rest beyond 15 minutes, you want to put the batter in the fridge. Some bakers say it can sit on the counter for an hour, but better safe than sorry! If the leavening expands too quickly, you can end up with flat or dense muffins.

Secret #3: FILL IT UP! Yes, fill the muffin cups within 1/8th of an inch from the top. Seriously, I know what you’ve been taught. Ah-uh, I know what recipes say! Tut-Tut, do you want a sky-high dome on your muffin or not? Ok, then fill it up, and then you’ll see. (But don’t do this if you don’t do the next secret!)

Secret #4: MAKE IT HOT! Always start with a higher temperature at the beginning of the baking cycle. The initial high heat causes the cranberry batter to rise rapidly and dome, “curing” the outside layer. After reducing the heat, the trapped inner air bubbles continue pushing upwards and outwards. You get a light and fluffy cranberry pecan muffin with a firm high domed muffin top structure that travels well, especially for fundraising bake sale ideas.

NOT SO SECRET! When it comes to muffin and brownie mixes, do NOT over-mix! (Hmm, have we heard that before?) You want to stir just until the batter is combined, small lumps are ok.

How To Store Cranberry Pecan Muffins

Covered muffins will stay fresh at room temperature for up to 5 days—no need to refrigerate.

Freeze and Thaw Instructions

You can freeze cranberry pecan muffins for up to 2 months. I recommend you wrap them individually, then put them in an airtight freezer bag or container.

To thaw, put frozen muffins in the fridge overnight, or let the muffins sit on the counter. Keep an eye out for sweating if the kitchen is humid, and loosen the wrapping.

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