Description
These Cranberry Sauce Coffee Cake Muffins are an easy way to turn leftover cranberry sauce into a soft and delicious homemade treat. Each muffin has a tender vanilla cake base with a sweet and tart cranberry swirl plus a buttery cinnamon streusel topping. This quick and simple recipe is one of the best holiday breakfast ideas for Thanksgiving brunch or Christmas morning. Serve these muffins with coffee or pack them for meal prep as part of a healthy balanced breakfast.
Ingredients
- 2 cups All-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup Granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons Baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 cup melted and slightly cooled Unsalted butter for batter
- 2 Large eggs
- 1/2 cup Sour cream
- 1/4 cup Whole milk
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup Prepared cranberry sauce
- 1/2 cup All-purpose flour for streusel
- 1/3 cup packed Light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup cold and cubed Unsalted butter for streusel
Instructions
- Add the half cup of flour for the streusel to a medium mixing bowl along with the packed brown sugar and ground cinnamon. Stir until the cinnamon is evenly distributed through the dry mixture and the sugar no longer has any large compact lumps.
Add the quarter cup of cold cubed butter and work it into the mixture until coarse crumbs begin to form. Some pieces should look like small pebbles while others resemble damp sand. Refrigerate the streusel while preparing the muffin batter so the butter stays cold and the crumbs hold their shape during baking.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a standard twelve-cup muffin tin with paper liners. In a large mixing bowl whisk together the two cups of flour and granulated sugar and baking powder and baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl whisk the melted and slightly cooled butter with the eggs and sour cream and milk and vanilla until mostly smooth.
Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and gently fold everything together until the visible streaks of flour disappear. The batter should be thick and creamy with a few small lumps remaining. Avoid overmixing because too much stirring can make the finished muffins dense instead of tender.
- Spoon the three quarters cup of prepared cranberry sauce over the surface of the vanilla batter in several uneven patches. If the sauce is very thick then gently loosen it before adding so it can spread through the mixture without requiring too much stirring.
Use a few broad folding motions to pull some of the pale batter over the cranberry sauce while leaving distinct red ribbons visible. Stop before the cranberry sauce becomes completely incorporated because the goal is to create beautiful pockets of cranberry flavor in every muffin rather than a uniformly pink batter.
- Divide the cranberry-swirled batter evenly among the twelve prepared muffin liners and fill each liner approximately three quarters full. Allow the red cranberry ribbons to remain visible near the surface and avoid pressing the batter down because it will naturally spread as the muffins bake.
Remove the cold streusel from the refrigerator and scatter the crumbs over all twelve portions. Use a combination of small and larger crumb clusters so the topping looks naturally uneven. Gently press only the largest pieces into the surface to help them remain attached while the batter rises.
- Place the filled muffin tin in the preheated oven and bake for approximately 23 to 27 minutes. During baking the thick batter will rise around the cranberry ribbons while the butter in the streusel melts and creates crisp golden clusters. The muffin tops should become gently rounded with a few natural cracks and caramelized edges.
Check for doneness by inserting a toothpick into a cake portion away from the cranberry filling. It should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Remove the muffin tin from the oven and let the muffins cool in the tin for five minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
- After the muffins have cooled enough to handle carefully transfer them from the muffin tin. Place one muffin on a small white serving plate and gently peel back part of its parchment liner. Break the muffin open to reveal the soft vanilla cake crumb and the bright cranberry ribbons tucked inside.
Arrange the two uneven muffin halves with a slight overlap so the interior remains visible and a few loose golden streusel crumbs rest naturally on the plate. Serve while slightly warm for the best combination of tender cake and crisp buttery topping.
Notes
Pro Tips:
- Use thick homemade or store-bought cranberry sauce that has cooled completely so the fruit ribbons stay distinct in the batter.
- Measure the flour with a spoon and level it gently because packing too much flour into the cup can produce heavy and dry muffins.
- Keep the butter for the streusel cold until assembly so the topping forms larger crisp clusters instead of melting into the batter.
- Allow the muffins to cool briefly in the tin before transferring them because hot cranberry filling can make the centers fragile.
Storage: Room Temperature Storage: Allow the Cranberry Sauce Coffee Cake Muffins to cool completely before storing. Place them in an airtight container lined with a paper towel and add another paper towel above the muffins to absorb extra moisture. Keep them at room temperature for up to two days in a cool environment.
Refrigerator Storage: For longer storage or in a warm kitchen place the muffins in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to five days. Refrigeration can make the crumb feel slightly firmer so warming the muffins before serving will help restore their tender texture. Keep the container sealed to prevent the muffins from absorbing other refrigerator odors.
Freezer Storage: Wrap each completely cooled muffin individually and place the wrapped muffins in a freezer-safe airtight container. Freeze for up to three months for the best quality. This method is especially useful when you have extra Thanksgiving cranberry sauce and want to prepare breakfast treats ahead of time.
Reheating Instructions: Thaw frozen muffins in the refrigerator or at room temperature before warming. Heat a muffin in the microwave for about 10 to 15 seconds or place it in a 300°F oven for several minutes until gently warmed. Oven reheating helps bring back some of the crisp texture of the cinnamon streusel topping.
Make-Ahead Preparation: Prepare the dry streusel mixture and refrigerate it in a covered container for up to two days before baking. Measure the dry muffin ingredients separately and keep them sealed until needed. For the lightest texture combine the wet and dry batter ingredients shortly before baking rather than storing fully mixed raw batter overnight.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Breakfast
- Cuisine: American