Fresh Cranberry Spice Muffins
Christmas Morning Muffins
Christmas morning can be hectic! Kid’s running around the house, pulling you out of bed, begging to open their presents and rummaging through their stockings. These Fresh Cranberry Christmas Eggnog muffins are perfect to bake the night before and then all you have to do is zap them in the microwave if you want them warm or just serve them cooled! They’re perfect to eat under the tree as you see what Santa brought the family.
The Best Muffin Ingredient
The best muffins are those made with buttermilk. It gives them an amazing flavor and texture. In this recipe we decided to use something that is equally amazing in flavor and texture……Eggnog! It is cinnamony sweet with a hint of nutmeg and a whole lot of holiday. It gives these muffins an edge that will make you want to make them every Christmas. If you don’t want to use store bought eggnog in this recipe, you can also use our Healthy Eggnog Recipe!
Ingredient Swaps
Make these Christmas Muffins perfect for your family! Not into walnuts? Leave them out (but they are a great source of omega-3’s which is why I used them). You can swap them for any type of nuts or white chocolate chips if you want to make these more of a dessert muffin. Don’t like eggnog? Just use regular buttermilk. You can swap out fresh cranberries for dried but I will say I love using fresh cranberries in baked goods! The flavor is so bright and festive!
Muffin Tips
Don’t over mix the batter. As soon as the dry and wet ingredients are incorporated stop mixing! If you work the batter too much your muffins will be tough. Also, make sure your oven is preheated all the way before you put the batter in! The high heat helps the batter to rise properly.
Fresh Cranberry Spice Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cup, chopped cranberries, raw
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cup flour, all-purpose
- 1 1/2 cup flour, whole wheat
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 large egg
- 1 1/2 cup eggnog
- 2/3 cup coconut oil
- 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line muffin pans with cupcake liners.
- In a small bowl, combine chopped cranberries and sugar. Set aside.
- In a large bowl add all other ingredients and stir just until combined. NOTE: Make sure your eggs are room temperature and your coconut oil is melted.
- Add sugared cranberries and gently fold in.
- Fill liners full and then bake for 15-20 minutes or until an inserted tooth pick comes out clean. Serve warm or cool! If you want them to be sweeter you can make a quick glaze with powdered sugar and milk!
Nutrition
www.superhealthykids.com
Enjoy our Christmas Muffins!
Natalie Monson
I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.
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Can you substitute non dairy egg nog?
These are delicious! I subbed pecans for the walnuts and maple syrup for the honey and they turned out great! Will definitely be making these again.
These look delicious! I plan to make a batch this Christmas. Curious if you think using butter in place of coconut oil would make much difference? Thanks!
Lora I think butter will work just fine!
Wow, awesome recipe. Looking forward to make these muffins on coming christmas.
Wow, amazing muffins. Looking forward to making this recipe on Christmas.
Can I substitute the coconut oil? And what’s the best substitute for it? Thank you, looking forward to make them!
Yep! You can substitute any neutral-flavored oil, or even butter. Enjoy!
Would milk work in place of egg nog?
Yep! 🙂
Made them taste wonderful
I’m going to try and make them gluten free so can I eliminate the whole wheat flour?
You can substitute a gluten-free flour!
Loved having these for breakfast over Christmas! They were a little time consuming but definitely worth it. For those that are sugar conscious I cut back the honey to 1/4 cup and they were still delicious. Even my super picky 2 year old ate them!
Wonderful! Thanks for sharing!
Would these do ok being frozen? If so, what’s the best method to defrost before serving? Thanks! They look delish!!
Hi! Yes – these do freeze well. I like to heat in the microwave for 30 seconds. If you don’t want to microwave them, I would leave them on the counter with a paper towel under them to trap any moisture.
Can’t wait to try these. I love cranberries in anything at Christmas. Thank you!.
Highly recommend this recipe. The muffins were perfect! Mine came out light and airy. Followed directions as written. Very tasty. Will make next egg nog season
can this be made into a bread?
We haven’t tried that, but I imagine it would work just fine!
Can I use frozen cranberries?
I think it should work fine – I would let them thaw a bit and then try to get extra liquid off of them before you toss with the sugar.