Can cranberry orange muffins be made with dried cranberries?

Yes. Use 1 1/8 cups of dried cranberries that have been soaked in warm water for about 10 minutes. Dry well. Muffins may be a touch sweeter since most dried cranberries are sweetened.

Can I make a cranberry orange loaf instead of muffins?

Yes. Just grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan and bake at 350 for 45 - 60 minutes. The loaf pan should be about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Test for doneness with a toothpick or skewer.

Delicious Panera Cranberry Orange Muffin Recipe

Description

I don’t know if this is the famous Panera cranberry orange muffin recipe, but I do know these are good. Better than good. These cranberry orange muffins are amazing!

Ingredients

Scale

1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil, plus more for the pan

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs at room temperature

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup orange juice

1 t vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal. If using Morton’s use half.)

2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

For the Glaze (optional)

1 1/2 c powdered sugar

2 – 3 T orange juice

Dash of vanilla extract

1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

Pinch salt

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Instructions

Heat oven to 425 degrees with a rack set in the upper third. Generously oil a 12-cup muffin pan or line with paper liners.

To a large bowl, add the granulated sugar, eggs and oil, and whisk until well combined.

Add the buttermilk, orange juice, vanilla extract, salt and orange zest. Whisk until well combined.

Whisk in the baking powder and baking soda, then use a flexible spatula to fold in the flour and cranberries.

Divide the mixture among the 12 wells and bake at 425 for 6 to 9 minutes. Without opening oven door, peek to see if the muffins are about a 1/4 -1/2″ above the paper. That means it’s time to turn the oven heat down to 350.

Bake 6 – 10 minutes longer or until toothpick inserted comes out barely clean. (My muffins were ready with the shortest times mentioned.)

Remove from oven and let cool on rack for 1 – 2 minutes. Then remove from pan. If you leave them in the muffin pan, the sides and bottom may become soggy.

(If using frozen cranberries, the muffins may need to bake up to 35 minutes.) Let the muffins cool in the pan for 6-10 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

While the muffins are cooling, make the glaze, if using: In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons orange juice, the orange zest, a dash of vanilla and a pinch of salt until smooth. Your glaze should have the same consistency as honey; add a bit more orange juice if necessary.

Glaze the cooled muffins and let the glaze set for 15 minutes before serving. Muffins can be frozen, glazed or unglazed, in an airtight container for up to 1 month.

Notes

Thank you NYT for this fabulous recipe.

See tips above for how to make this as a quick bread.