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Cranberry White Chocolate Muffins

Every now and again you stumble across a muffin recipe that’s so delicious, so packed with flavor, that you simply can’t resist. This is that recipe. 

Cranberry White Chocolate Muffins from Out of the Box Baking

Cranberry and White Chocolate? Yes, please! 

I don’t know about you, but I love this flavor combination! White chocolate is smooth and creamy, the perfect complement to the tartness of the cranberries. Throw in some pecans or walnuts and you’ve got a flavor-packed, texture-packed muffin that will leave you feeling completely satisfied! 

I’ll be honest: I didn’t grow up eating cranberries. I turned my nose up at them! I didn’t actually start adding them to my baking lineup until a few years ago. 

These days, I use them all the time—like, in my Sparkling White Chocolate Cranberry Cupcakes and my Cranberry Banana Bread. (Yum!)

This recipe, though? I’d have to say it’s on a top five list of favorite cranberry recipes! 

Is White Chocolate Chocolate? 

bar of white chocolate

Funny question, right? But let’s talk about that. 

I’ll share more about why I love these muffins so much in a bit, but let’s take a look at what you’re going to need to make them. 

While it contains cocoa butter, sugar, and milk solids like traditional chocolate, so-called “white chocolate” lacks cocoa solids. These are responsible for the dark color and characteristic chocolate flavor that you’ve probably come to enjoy 

Some folks might argue that without those important cocoa solids, white chocolate shouldn't be considered true chocolate. I’ve pondered this long and hard but I really don’t know what else to call it, so I’m going to go on calling it what chocolate. 

No matter what you call it, it pairs beautifully with the cranberries in this muffin. 

So, there you have it: two of my favorites—cranberries and white chocolate! Let’s dive right in to the recipe. 

Cranberry White Chocolate Muffin Ingredients

Cranberry White Chocolate Muffins from Out of the Box Baking

You will find a full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post but here's a quick peek at what you will need. These are simple ingredients you might already have on hand.

  • all-purpose flour
  • light brown sugar (packed)
  • baking powder
  • large eggs
  • whole milk
  • sour cream
  • melted butter, salted
  • cranberries, coarsely chopped
  • white chocolate chips
  • finely chopped pecans

Note: This is a thick batter that makes 15 large muffins

How to Make Cranberry White Chocolate Muffins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Prepare muffin tiny by spraying with nonstick spray. Set aside. 

Combine brown sugar, flour, and baking powder in a large bowl and whisk together. If you prefer, you could use a large bowl with an electric mixer, or even the bowl of a stand mixer with paddle attachment.

Cranberry White Chocolate Muffins from Out of the Box Baking

Add wet ingredients (milk, eggs, sour cream, and melted butter to the dry ingredients. Mix well (on low speed, if you're using a mixer).

Now it’s time to fold in the good stuff! Add the cranberries, white chocolate chips, and finely chopped pecans. Mix well. 

Cranberry White Chocolate Muffins from Out of the Box Baking

You will have a thick batter. 

Cranberry White Chocolate Muffins from Out of the Box Baking

Use an ice cream scoop to fill your muffin pan. This recipe should make 15 muffins so you'll need two muffin tins. (No paper liners are necessary!)

Cranberry White Chocolate Muffins from Out of the Box Baking

Place into preheated oven and bake for 18 - 22 minutes or until the muffins turn golden brown and spring back to the touch. If you're unsure, you can use a toothpick or cake tester.

Remove and place on wire rack to cool. 

Cranberry White Chocolate Muffins from Out of the Box Baking

Once they cool, remove from the tin. 

Cranberry White Chocolate Muffins from Out of the Box Baking

Serve and enjoy! 

Cranberry White Chocolate Muffins from Out of the Box Baking

Place in airtight container or wrap in plastic wrap. These can be stored at room temperature but I refrigerated mine. I love cranberry muffins cold. 

What to Expect from this Recipe

Cranberry White Chocolate Muffins from Out of the Box Baking

These bakery-style muffins are hearty, sweet, and tart. I absolutely love the “punch” of the berries with the sweetness of the white chocolate. (Talk about a great way to use up leftover cranberries!)

And the muffin base? It’s perfect! These are dense muffins, which I love, more of a sweet quick bread. Yet, somehow, they still manage to maintain a bit of fluffiness. And they're still moist muffins, despite their density.

Because of their flavor combination I think these would be amazing during the holiday season. But they're so versatile, you could eat them any time of year!

Variations on this Recipe

Blueberries: Berry muffins are amazing! If I make this version I might skip the nuts and add lemon zest instead. Yum! 

Raspberry: I plan to make this version tomorrow to take to some new friends. I think raspberry and white chocolate are a perfect combination. 

Dark chocolate: If you’re not a fan of white, then dark chocolate would be lovely in this recipe! 

Milk chocolate: I think this would be a great option, too. The creamy milk chocolate would be perfect with the tart fresh cranberries.

Dehydrated cranberries: Don't have fresh tart cranberries? You can use dehydrated (Craisins) if you like. Just soak them for a few hours first to plump them up.

Orange zest or orange juice: Orange and cranberry just go together! I think this would be a lovely combination!

Coarse sugar: If you like, you can press some coarse sugar on top of the muffins before you bake them.

Greek Yogurt in place of sour cream: This is an easy switch and will deepen the flavors.

Other Muffins from Out of the Box Baking

This is one of those muffin recipes you'll want to make again and again! But if you're in the mood for something different, I've got a ton of other recipes to consider:

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

Traditional Blueberry Muffins

Easy Cinnamon Sugar Muffins

Traditional Banana Nut Muffins

That’s it for this post, friends!

I hope you enjoyed this delicious white chocolate cranberry muffins recipe

If you make this recipe and love it, don’t forget to leave a review and a comment below. And while you're at it, go ahead and pin some photos to your Pinterest boards!

Cranberry White Chocolate Muffins from Out of the Box Baking

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Cranberry White Chocolate Muffins

Cranberry White Chocolate Muffins

Yield: 15

Every now and again you stumble across a muffin recipe that’s so delicious, so packed with flavor, that you simply can’t resist. This is that recipe.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup light brown sugar (packed)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 large eggs
  • ½ cup whole milk
  • ½ cup sour cream
  • ½ cup melted butter, salted
  • ¾ cup cranberries, coarsely chopped
  • ¾ cup white chocolate chips
  • ¾ cup finely chopped pecans

Instructions

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

    Prepare muffin tiny by spraying with nonstick spray. Set aside.

    Combine brown sugar, flour, and baking powder in a large bowl and whisk together.

    Add milk, eggs, sour cream, and melted butter to the dry ingredients. Mix well.

    Now it’s time to fold in the good stuff! Add the cranberries, white chocolate chips, and finely chopped pecans. Mix well.

    You will have a thick batter.

    Use an ice cream scoop to fill your muffin tins. This recipe should make 15 muffins.

    Place into preheated oven and bake for 18 - 22 minutes or until the muffins spring back to the touch.

    Remove and place on wire rack to cool.

    Once they cool, remove from the tin.

    Serve and enjoy!

    Place in airtight container or wrap in plastic wrap. These can be stored at room temperature but I refrigerated mine. I love cranberry muffins cold.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 15 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 265Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 48mgSodium: 140mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 1gSugar: 15gProtein: 4g

The nutrition information is a product of online calculators. I try to provide true and accurate information, but these numbers are estimates.

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