When I was going to college at the University of Toronto, I used to drop by my local Second Cup every now and then for a nice big latte and a lemon cranberry muffin. It just hit the spot on blustery snowy mornings, and fueled me for the 20 minute walk across the icy campus to my classes at the very furthest end of the university. Sometimes, instead of going in the mornings, I’d spend a few hours in the coffee shop sipping my coffee and munching on my muffin, researching papers all afternoon (hooray for free wifi).
Tim Hortons also had a lemon cranberry muffin, and though it didn’t have the nice crisp cap of the Second Cup muffin, it had a deliciously fluffy cake-like consistency and was almost always gone by the time I got to the Tim Hortons on the south end of campus.
A good lemon cranberry muffin is just one of the best parts of winter. And despite the fact that it was probably 80 degrees out today on the Central Coast, cranberries are in season, and I’m stocking up. A few bags of cranberries thrown right in the freezer will last me through till spring, so I’m anticipating plenty of cranberry goodness all through the winter.
Check out the colors of this gorgeous muffin. I used a yogurt cake base, because every since I made this lemon yogurt cake by Orangette, it has become my go-to lemon cake recipe. It’s moist and fluffy, with a fine crumb, perfect as a base for poppy seeds or fruit (or both). I love the tart cranberries as they explode in your mouth! After making the muffins, I felt they needed a little extra sweetness, so I made a lemon simple syrup that I brushed over the top of the muffins. But you could just increase the sugar slightly, or sprinkle sugar over the top of the muffins before baking them.
I had a little extra batter left over at the end, so I made a giant muffin (or a mini loaf) in a buttered ramekin. I actually love the look of the ramekin muffin and think that a set of these little cups with muffins baked into them would make a great Christmas gift.
Lemon Cranberry Muffins
½ cup plain yogurt
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
pinch salt
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tbsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
½ cup oil
2 cups fresh cranberries
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Mix the yogurt, sugar, salt and eggs together in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest and vanilla extract.
2. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to wet, and stir together until moistened.
3. Add oil and mix, mix, mix until batter is smooth and homogeneous. Fold in cranberries.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into muffins comes out clean.
Lemon Simple Syrup
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup granulated sugar
In a small saucepan, heat the lemon juice and sugar together gently until all the sugar dissolves. Brush over muffins.
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Yum!!! I was just thinking today that I would love to make some cranberry muffins, since I have some fresh cranberries right now. These look delicious; I’ll definitely be trying this recipe!
Beautiful muffins! I’m sure the cranberry and lemon combo is delicious!
You’re so artsy. I really like the third picture – great layout. Oh, and they taste great too!
Looks great! I think I’ll sub orange zest for the lemon and make a loaf instead of muffins. Thanks for the inspiration!
I love lvoe love lemony baked goods and the lemon/cranberry comment must be so deliciously tart!
Ooooh cranberries! I feel like I haven’t seen enough cranberries! I have such a soft-spot for muffins, too!
I love cranberry muffins and these look delicious. I bet the yogurt makes them so moist. I can’t wait to give these a try. Thanks for sharing.
I also wanted to say that I have never had a lemon cranberry muffin but I can’t wait to try these.
OH MY! I can’t wait to try these! What a great combo of flavors!!
Great blog! Happy I found you!
Mary xo
Delightful Bitefuls
Thanks everyone! By the way, the muffins are really good if you reheat them the next day for breakfast after they’ve been glazed. The glaze browns up and gets the cap super crispy!
I had such an obsession with the second cup cranberry lemon muffins, and now they don’t have them anymore. I have been going through withdrawl for a good 6 months now – your story sounded exactly like my life in Montreal. Bought cranberries yesterday, found your recipe today, making them tomorrow. Can’t wait! Beautiful pictures by the way!
[...] Food Republik Makes 12 [...]
Mose – Oh I’m so sad that they don’t have them anymore! I was looking forward to having one when I visit Toronto in a few months!
When I saw your post of Foodgawker – I knew I was going to make these very soon… and I did last weekend!! We loved them! Thanks for sharing!
http://redsie05.blogspot.com/2010/11/lemon-cranberry-muffins.html
these are amazing! I just made them and blogged about them
Just wanted to let you know that I tried this recipe and the muffins turned out fantastic! Thanks for posting – these were the perfect breakfast treat!
You’re so welcome!
these are amazing! I just made them and blogged about them
[...] lemon cranberry muffin was uber moist, must be the odd 1/2 cup of oil I added according to the recipe. The cranberries and their red oozing blood is beautiful. This recipe was a bit TOO tart and a bit [...]
The vanilla is a really good idea. The smooth taste of the vanilla mixed with the tartness of the cranberries would be a good combination.
If anyone wants to add icing, rather than using something sugar based: try whipping plain Cream Cheese in with freshly scraped Vanilla Beans.
This will also help even out some of the tartness for those that find cranberry too strong.
[...] Cranberry Muffins Posted on February 3, 2011 by sometimesthewheelturns These lemon cranberry muffins aren’t too sweet and they don’t stick to the pan if you don’t have paper liners. [...]
Yes I go to U of T downtown & I buy a muffin almost everyday for Second Cup: NOT ANYMORE! These Muffins are SO GOOD! I just baked them now & they are the best muffins that I have baked! And I have tried many recipes!! Thank You for Sharing this Great recipe!
Just made the lemon cranberry muffins; they are absolutely delicious and beautiful to look at! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Thank you! These are always a hit and will be part of my Thanksgiving day brunch. I sometimes use greek yogurt to give these an additional tart kick.
I made these and they are wonderful! I am planning on a second batch to give away as Christmas gifts.
I just have one question though: Do you think these will freeze well, as I will be making them in advance?
Definitivamente, después de leer tan buenos comentarios y ver esas deliciosas fotos voy a tratar!!!
Just wanted to let you know that this is one of the Best Recipe’s that I ever got for muffins, especially cranberry and with the tart lemon…. Fantastic did another with fresh blueberry’s and a strusel topping thanks again.
can you use dried cranberries in this recipe? i cant find any fresh ones in our stores
[...] I just realized that it has been a while since I blogged about cranberries! The little fruit is a big deal in my house and I promise to give it more attention on the blog in the coming months. With valentine’s day right around the corner (tomorrow!) I’m trying to incorporate the colors red and pink into our cuisines. I’ve bought strawberries this week and made a batch of cranberry muffins. I have several recipes for cranberry muffins, but this is the first time I’m trying Ina Garten’s recipe. The review of her cranberries muffins are fantastics so I decided to give it a try today! I love Ina Garten’s recipes and if follow them exactly you’ll have culinary delights in your home. This cranberry muffin recipe comes from the Barefoot Contessa cookbook. I omit the hazelnuts and figs because we enjoy a more simple cranberry muffin in my house. Another twist on cranberry muffins is cranberry lemon muffins. The cranberry-lemon recipe can be found here [...]
looks good, I’m trying this tomorrow morning!
Amazing muffins. Perfect taste.
[...] Cranberry Muffins from Food Republik’s Lemon Cranberry Muffins yields 12 muffins – 1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used fat free Greek yogurt) – 1 cup granulated sugar – [...]
Fantastic! I’ve tried out four lemon muffin recipes, and was disappointed by how weak the lemon flavour was (and accidentally turned other batches into dense lemon hockey pucks trying to add more of the zest and juice the recipe called for to make them stronger). These are flavourfull, delicious, and sweet! Thumbs up!
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