Cranberry Sauce Muffins Recipe

5 from 11 votes

These Cranberry Sauce Muffins are the perfect way to use your leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving or Christmas. Made with gluten-free (or regular flour), they're subtly spiced, with a moist and dense center, golden and crispy tops, and delicious flavor. They make for a lovely morning treat or an afternoon snack with coffee.

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Cooling Time15

Total Time55

Course: Breakfast, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: great for brunch, unique muffin recipes, recipes using leftover cranberry sauce

Servings:

Calories: 273kcal

Author: Valentina K. Wein

Equipment

Ingredients

2½ cups plus 2 tablespoons Cup4Cup Gluten-Free Multi-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon Kosher salt if using table salt, use half the amount
⅔ cup plus 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil (or other neutral oil, like vegetable)
¾ cup granulated sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup cranberry sauce any kind, see notes
2 teaspoons coarse sugar or Sugar in the Raw optional

Instructions

Set the oven and prepare the pan(s). Preheat the oven to 400°F, adjust a rack to the top third of the oven. Use 16 paper muffin liners to line a standard-sized muffin pan (or pans). Alternately if your pans are non-stick, you can just lightly grease them with oil or butter (use a brush), or a non-stick spray.
Combine dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
Combine wet ingredients. In another large mixing bowl, use a whisk to blend the oil with the sugar. Once it's blended, whisk in the buttermilk and vanilla. Add the eggs and continue to whisk until it's very smooth.
Combine wet with dry ingredients and add cranberry sauce. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the well, and mix only until you no longer see dry spots.
Mix the cranberry sauce well, so there aren't any large clumps. Then fold it into the batter. Mix just to combine. It's okay if the batter is somewhat streaked with it.
Fill the pan(s). Fill the muffin pan(s) with the liners (or greased, non-stick) to the very top. Sprinkle each one with a little bit of the coarse sugar (or Sugar in the Raw). The muffins will rise a bit above the top rims, so whatever muffin pan you're using, use a brush or your finger to grease on top of the pan, around each top rim.
Bake. Place in the preheated 400°F oven and bake until the tops are slightly golden and feel cooked through to the touch. (If you gently and lightly press your finger on top, it should feel a bit like a sponge.) The baking time is 20 to 25 minutes.
Cool and serve. Let the muffins cool in the pan for at least 5 minutes. Then remove them and cool them on a baking rack for at least another 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

Cranberry sauce: any cranberry sauce works, even from a can. Thick sauce with whole cranberries is best. If yours has a lot of juice, strain it first. Depending on the sauce, baking times and texture might vary.

Not gluten-free? Use regular all-purpose flour, plus an extra 2 tablespoons.

Other gluten-free flours: if yours doesn't contain xanthan gum, add 1 teaspoon to the recipe.

Nutritional information is automatically calculated, so it should only be used as an estimate.

Nutrition