Sourdough Orange Cranberry Muffins
These sourdough orange cranberry muffins are bursting with citrus flavor and tart berries. A cozy, flavorful way to use your sourdough starter in a fun and easy recipe.
These sourdough orange cranberry muffins are the kind of heart that makes a chilly morning feel special. Made with sourdough discard for a touch of tang and extra moisture, they’re filled with fresh orange zest, juicy bites of cranberry, and a soft, tender crumb.
Whether you are using up leftover discard or intentionally saving it for treats like this, these muffins are a quick and simple way to bring bold favors to your breakfast table or afternoon snack. The sweetness of the orange balances the tartness of the cranberry, and the discard helps deepen the flavor.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Bright flavor – The combo of orange and cranberries is a fall and winter favorite!
- Easy recipe – These muffins are super simple to make and a great use of discard – just mix, scoop, and bake.
What else can your starter do? If you are in the mood for more muffins, definitely check out my other favorites! The sourdough applesauce muffins are cozy and hearty, made with apple pie spice, oats, and a soft tender crumb thats perfect for fall mornings. For s burst of citrus, sourdough lemon poppyseed muffins are bright and cheerful.
How to make these muffins
These muffins are simple to make. Here’s a brief overview to help you get an understanding of the recipe, but for the full set of directions and ingredient amounts, please scroll down to the recipe card below.
Step One:Mix the batter
Preheat the oven and prepare a muffin pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients until well combined. In a second mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Place 2 cups of fresh cranberries in the flour mixture and toss to coat – this helps them not sink in the batter while the muffins are baking. Gently combine the dry and wet ingredients together, mixing until just barely combined.
Step Two: Bake
Divide the batter equally among the prepared muffin cups. Press the remaining 1/2 cup of cranberries into the tops of the muffins, and then sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted inside comes out clean.
Storage infromation
Store these covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Sourdough is better when shared
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment and rating below.
Love and links are always appreciated! If you’d like to share this recipe, please link to the post directly for the recipe, please do not copy and paste or screenshot. Thank you so much for supporting me. XOXO – Jenni
Sourdough Orange Cranberry Muffins
These sourdough orange cranberry muffins are bursting with citrus flavor and tart berries. A cozy, flavorful way to use up your sourdough discard in a fun and easy recipe.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 23 minutes
- Total Time: 38 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
- Category: Quick Bread
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter discard
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 1/2 Tablespoon orange zest
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
- 1/4 cup turbinado sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F.
- Prepare a muffin pan by lining with parchment paper cups or spraying with baking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, salt and baking soda until well combined.
- In a second mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, sour cream, melted butter, sourdough discard, eggs, orange juice, orange zest and vanilla until well combined.
- Place 2 cups of fresh cranberries in the flour mixture and toss to coat – this helps them not sink in the batter while the muffins are baking.
- Gently combine the dry and wet ingredients together, mixing until just barely combined.
- Divide the muffin batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups.
- Place the remaining 1/2 cup of cranberries on top of the muffin batter anywhere it looks like a muffin needs some.
- Sprinkle with the turbinado sugar.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean.
- Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before carefully removing the muffins to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes
Store, covered, at room temperature for up to 3 days.