I enjoy baked goods that I can pretend are breakfast. These muffins are great because they have some sugar along with cranberries, and oatmeal. Clearly, they taste awesome and someone went through the effort to make them. Even though these muffins can be baked \\”for the week\\”, something tells me that you’ll eat them before the week ends. I would say I’m not too ashamed to say it, and I would recommend it!
The oatmeal in the muffins serves two purposes. They stay fresh and moist, and they keep the muffins from becoming sad and dry by Tuesday. The muffins also have a gentle chew and a toasty sensation, which make the cranberry pieces feel much more crunchy and refreshing. They may be good warm with butter, but I think they are better at room temperature. You might find them more tasty in your lunchbox. The muffins give off an energy that makes it feel like your life is all together.
These muffins are very forgiving. If you want a dry, crumbling muffin, and not a moist, soft crumb, you’ll want to be specific about the ingredients. This is the kind of muffin that is not going to make you hate oatmeal like so many muffins have done before.
For a standard batch of 12 muffins, first soak 1 cup of rolled oats in 1 cup of buttermilk. Then combine that mixture with about 2 cups of flour, 3/4 cup of white sugar, 1/2 cup of oil (or 6 tablespoons of melted butter), 2 eggs, some leavening agents, and 1 to 1 1/2 cups of cranberries.
To create a batch of only 6 muffins you must use half the amount of each ingredient and cook them for the exact same amount of time. Just be careful to keep an eye on them to avoid them overcooking because you will want to check them earlier.
## Ingredient Choices That Change Flavor ##
Every recipe has a personality. This one leans cozy, a bit tart, and very breakfast friendly. But it can easily be changed up. In the past I’ve made this on exhausted mornings and used whatever I could find in the pantry and the muffins always seemed to “speak” to the choice.
## Optional Toppings (Worth It) ##
### EL 1 ###
### EL 6 ### Instructions ###
These are pretty simple. But I think of two things, soaking the oats (for moisture), and mixing (for tenderness). And just to reiterate, don’t overmix. You don’t want sad muffins.
Begin by clearing off some counter space and turning the oven on to 425°F/220°C. Choose if you would like to grease a 12-muffin cup tin and place some paper muffin liners in the cups, or just leave the muffin cups unlined and greased. Don’t forget to grease the top of the muffin tin as well because muffins tend to stick to metal.
For soaking the oats, take a large mixing bowl and mix 1 cup rolled oats with 1 cup buttermilk and let it sit for 15 minutes. The mixture will look like some sort of porridge with lumps. It may look strange, but this is normal!
Now combine the dry ingredients.
In another bowl, mix and beat 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, and 1 teaspoon of Kosher salt (or use 1/2 teaspoon if you are using table salt). You may also add 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon if desired.
To make the wet mixture, start with the oat and buttermilk mixture and combine that with 2 large eggs, 3/4 cup of packed brown sugar, 1/3 cup of neutral oil (or 6 tablespoons of melted butter), and 2 teaspoons of vanilla. If you are adding 1 tablespoon of orange zest, you can add that now.
To combine the batter well, the folding technique should be used. Mix the wet and dry ingredients, and stop folding when you can’t see flour. The batter should be thick and somewhat rough. Silky smooth flour indicates you have overmixed, and it will still be edible, but will be less tender.
Add cranberries (try to keep them on top). Fold 1 to 1 1/2 cups of fresh (or frozen) cranberries and 1 tbsp of flour into the batter. (Flour suspends the cranberries in the batter so that they won’t sink to the bottom when it bakes)
Pour the batter into the muffin cups. To get a nicely rounded dome on your muffins, fill each cup to the top with batter.
A crunchier topping can be made by adding turbinado sugar and some oats.
Begin hot method baking by setting your oven to 425°F (220°C) baking for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes lower the temperature to 350°F (175°C) and bake for 13 to 17 more minutes without opening the oven. The muffins should spring back and a toothpick should come out with only a few wet crumbs.
Muffins need to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes and then be moved to a cooling rack. If you leave the pans to sit for a while, the bottoms of the pans will be spongy because of steaming. Trust me, I’ve been “busy” (I guess that has become my brand)
These muffins have a greater value than all the other choices available. Many find muffins made with oil to stay soft longer. Butter gives the muffins a rich flavor while adding more saturated fat. The oats in these muffins will provide energy and keep you full longer.
For 2-3 days , muffins should be stored in a container at room temperature. After this, I like to freeze mine (I wrap each one individually so I can grab one like a civilized person). To bake frozen muffins, set the oven to 300°F (150°C) and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
Microwaving should be done for a very short time. If you like a crispy top, don’t microwave it at all. There’s basically no effort and no time in making it if you’re simply going to microwave it. But, if time isn’t a concern, I would recommend the oven over microwave.
Times I’ve Made This
Pilot batch: One November, I brought a batch to a morning meeting, and everyone pretended not to be hungry. Minutes later, a cloud of cinnamon, other spices, and zesty fruits muffin aroma enveloped the room and people claimed to have “just taken half” of the muffins. After some muffins, the most serious looking person at the table asked what made the muffins so moist. It was the soaked oats and, well, a good pinch of salt.
Example 2: When I couldn’t get fresh cranberries I had to substitute them with dried ones, which made the muffins sweeter and trail mix style snackable, so I had to reduce the brown sugar and add some orange zest to keep the muffins tasting fresh. The speed at which the muffins disappeared from the freezer compared to the so-called better batch was, if nothing else, mildly annoying but educational.
The Prep Checklist
- Set oven to 425°F / 220°C; line or grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
- Soak 1 cup rolled oats in 1 cup buttermilk for 15 minutes.
- Whisk dry: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon.
- Whisk into soaked oats: eggs, brown sugar, oil/butter, vanilla (and orange zest if using).
- Fold dry into wet just until combined.
- Toss cranberries with 1 tbsp flour; fold in.
- Fill cups nearly to the top; add turbinado sugar if desired.
- Bake 5 minutes at 425°F, then 13–17 minutes at 350°F.
- Cool 5 minutes in pan, then move to a rack.
Terms Worth Knowing
- Fold: A gentle mixing method using a spatula to combine without deflating or overworking the batter.
- Leavening: Baking powder/soda that create gas bubbles, lifting the muffins as they bake.
- Hot-start baking: Beginning at a higher oven temperature to encourage rapid rise and domed tops, then lowering to finish baking evenly.
- Hydration/soak: Letting oats sit in liquid so they soften and hold moisture in the finished muffin.
- Carryover cooking: Residual heat continues to set the crumb after muffins leave the oven: don’t overbake chasing a bone-dry toothpick.
Quick Answers
- Fold: A gentle mixing method using a spatula to combine without deflating or overworking the batter.
- Leavening: Baking powder/soda that create gas bubbles, lifting the muffins as they bake.
- Hot-start baking: Beginning at a higher oven temperature to encourage rapid rise and domed tops, then lowering to finish baking evenly.
- Hydration/soak: Letting oats sit in liquid so they soften and hold moisture in the finished muffin.
- Carryover cooking: Residual heat continues to set the crumb after muffins leave the oven: don’t overbake chasing a bone-dry toothpick.
Quick Answers
Are dried cranberries an acceptable alternative to fresh or frozen cranberries?
Yes.
You can use 3/4 to 1 cup of dried cranberries. Since dried cranberries are sweeter than fresh, you may want to decrease the brown sugar by 2 to 4 tablespoons. You can also add a bit of orange zest if you want.
Should I soak my oats?
It’s best practice to soak oats. When raw oats are soaked, some of the chewiness is removed and it helps the muffins stay tender for a longer time. If you are short on time, you can soak them for just 5 minutes. Just keep in mind that the muffins will not be as plush.
What if I don’t have buttermilk? If buttermilk is not on hand, simply add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup of milk, and let it sit for 5 minutes. If you have plain yogurt, you can mix it with some milk until it is runny to get buttermilk consistency.
Can these muffins be prepared for a brunch in advance?
Absolutely! You can bake the muffins the day before the event and place them in a sealed container. To serve, just heat them for 6-8 minutes at 300°F and your guests will be wowed. The muffins will look brand new and you won’t even have to bake them again.
**What causes muffins to stick to the liners?** If your muffins have a paper liner, the adhesive liners can stick to the liner as the muffins cool. Muffins that have less fat in the batter tend to stick more to the liners. You could also try to spray the liner with some oil or use parchment paper liners. Muffins tend to stick more to the liners when they are cooled, especially if the muffins are warm.
To answer your question about possibly using less sugar, the answer is yes! You can use less brown sugar, even down to 2/3 cup for the entire batch. The muffins will be noticeably more tart, but will still taste fine, even if they are slightly less tender. The sugar crunch topping will add some more texture to the muffins.
Final Thoughts
What I appreciate about the cranberry oatmeal muffins is the simplicity. They are tart but not overwhelmingly so, and the muffins strike that nice balance of being sturdy without being dense. The muffins are homemade, and they will elevate your ordinary morning to something exceptional. With a little customization, it will be a pleasure to enjoy the muffins at the first signs of autumn.
