This year I baked two different muffins recipes to bring to my parents’ house on Christmas morning. I wanted to make my muffins as festive as possible, so I decided to go with red (cranberry orange oat) and green (pistachio) as my theme. Today I’m sharing the recipe for the cranberry orange oat version with you guys. I would say this is one of the most delicious muffin recipes I’ve ever made! Seriously. You have to try them.

Cranberry Orange Oat Muffins

Cranberry Orange Oat Muffins

Recipe adapted from Texanerin Baking

Ingredients

  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • 2 tablespoons wheat germ
  • 2 tablespoons wheat bran
  • 1.5 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1.5 cups quick oats
  • 1.5 cups dried cranberries
  • Zest of 1 large orange
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup honey
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 egg
  • ½ cup boiling water

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (including zest).
  3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture, stirring in the boiling water last.
  4. Let the batter sit for at least 15 minutes before filling greased muffin tins or muffin liners. I let my batter sit overnight in the fridge, and I filled my muffin liners to the top.
  5. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
  6. Remove muffins from pan, cool, and enjoy!

Cranberry Orange Oat Muffins

This recipe makes a dozen muffins. They came out cakey (love) and light. The cranberry and orange zest kept a sweet taste to them despite the recipe not having any added sugars. I don’t normally like a lot of orange flavored things, but this zest was subtle and not overbearing. If you wanted to add a stronger orange flavor, I’d probably recommend zesting another orange.

Cranberry Orange Oat Muffins

These are perfect for any festive occasion or a quick grab and go nutritious snack. If you try them, I hope you like them as much as I did.

–Let’s chat–
Do you like orange flavored foods? What’s the best muffin recipe you’ve ever made or tried? 

I’ll share the pistachio version soon!