Cranberry Eggnog Muffins are the PERFECT Christmas muffins recipe. With the nutty taste of delicious eggnog and bursts of tangy cranberries in every bite, these muffins can easily become a holiday tradition.
Recipe: $4.80 | Per Serving: $0.28 | Yields: 17 muffins
When you think of Christmas, a few things come to mind. Chocolate, a million types of cookies, gingerbread, eggnog, and cranberries. While there is obviously more to Christmas than just food, we have to admit that the holiday feast and goodies are a great way to keep the spirits up.
I love the sweet, nutty, tangy bites of these eggnog cranberry muffins, and everything from the smell to the bright colors has me feeling jolly. I usually eat them two at a time, but that's okay because calories don't count during the holidays, or so I've heard. Ha.
For more Christmas recipes, make sure to check out these Cranberry Pecan Shortbread Cookies, Cranberry White Chocolate Cheesecake, and 25 Christmas Breakfast Ideas.
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🍯 Why This Recipe Works
- Simple ingredients. Most of the ingredients in this recipe are simple pantry staple ingredients like flour, sugar, and baking powder. That means any shopping that you'll need to do will be minimal.
- We use real eggnog! While we do use some rum extract for added flavor, we need actual eggnog in the muffin batter. This is great for using up leftover eggnog in the fridge.
- You can omit the cranberries. Adding the cranberries really makes these muffins fun, festive, and colorful, but you can omit them if you want. The muffins still taste great without them.
🥘 Ingredients
Ingredient Notes:
Streusel Topping- For a delicious topping, combine granulated sugar, flour, nutmeg, rum extract, and butter.
Granulated Sugar- This will make the muffins sweeter, but it also helps to give us a more tender crumb as well.
Baking Powder- You will need some baking powder to help the muffins rise as they bake.
Eggnog- To moisten the batter and give us a "real" eggnog flavor, you'll need some actual eggnog.
Fresh Cranberries- Add in fresh cranberries for a burst of fresh tangy goodness in every muffin. Make sure to save some cranberries for Cranberry Orange Sauce.
For specific ingredients and measurements, please see the recipe card below.
🔪 Instructions for Cranberry Eggnog Muffins
Step 1: Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F, line a muffin tray with paper liners, or spray with cooking grease.
Step 2: In a bowl, combine all of the dry topping ingredients until well mixed. Add in the melted butter and mix just until crumbly. Set aside.
Step 3: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until smooth.
Step 4: Mix in the eggs until smooth.
It should look like this.
Step 5: Mix in the baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and rum extract.
Step 6: Add in the flour and the eggnog, alternatingly, until both have been combined.
Start and end with the flour.
Step 7: Fold in the halved frozen fresh cranberries.
Step 8: Stop once fully incorporated.
Step 9: Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Add streusel, you will have some leftovers.
Step 10: Bake in the oven at 425 degrees F for 20 minutes until light golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.
🍴 Recipe Tips
- Pre-freezing Cranberries- To ease preparation, freeze fresh cranberries for at least an hour before making muffins. This makes them easier to slice without leaving red streaks in the batter.
- Substituting Rum Extract- If rum extract isn't available, double the amount of vanilla extract as a replacement. While the rum flavor enhances the eggnog taste, omitting it won't significantly affect the muffins' overall flavor.
- Eggnog Replacement- If short on eggnog, substitute half and half or milk for the remaining amount. This may dilute the flavor slightly, but the muffins will still be enjoyable.
💭 Recipe FAQs
This eggnog muffin recipe is good for 2 days. If kept in an airtight container at room temperature, your muffins can last about 2 days before becoming stale. For longer storage, freeze them.
Keep your leftover streusel topping in a sealed bag in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. When ready to use, grab what's needed and enjoy.
You can use either fresh or dried cranberries, depending on your preference. Dried cranberries add a chewy texture, while fresh cranberries provide bursts of tartness.
❤️ More Delicious Holiday Recipes
If you tried this Cranberry Eggnog Muffins, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and share your feedback in the 📝 comments section below. I would truly appreciate it!
📖 Recipe
Cranberry Eggnog Muffins
Ingredients
Streusel Topping
- ½ cup granulated sugar ($0.18)
- ½ cup all purpose flour ($0.07)
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg ($0.04)
- ⅛ teaspoon rum extract ($0.04)
- 2 ½ Tablespoons butter, melted ($0.31)
Muffins
- 4 Tablespoons butter, softened ($0.50)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar ($0.27)
- 2 large eggs ($0.30)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder ($0.10)
- ½ teaspoon salt ($0.01)
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg ($0.08)
- ¼ teaspoon rum extract ($0.08)
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour ($0.33)
- 1 ¼ cup eggnog ($1.50)
- 1 cup fresh cranberries, frozen and halved ($0.99)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F and line a muffin tray (or two) with liners. This recipe makes roughly 17 muffins.
Topping:
- In a bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients and then add in the melted butter, mixing just until crumbly. Set aside.
Muffins
- Beat together the butter and sugar in a medium sized mixing bowl until smooth.
- Add in both eggs and beat again for about a minute until light and fluffy, making sure to scrape down the sides as you go.
- Mix in the baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and rum extract.
- Alternate adding the flour and the eggnog to the mix, mixing well after each addition until both have been thoroughly combined.
- Fold in the frozen and halved cranberries. it helps to freeze cranberries for about an hour before making this recipe so they slice easier (and are less messy).
- Spoon the batter into the muffin cups filling them about ⅔rds of the way full.
- Sprinkle the tops with the streusel topping you made earlier. You WILL have some leftover (about enough to repeat the recipe 3 times).
- Bake in the oven for 20 minutes until a pale golden brown color.
- Remove from oven and let cool.
Notes
Nutritional Information
Lightly Adapted from King Arthur Baking Easy Holiday Eggnog Muffins Recipe.
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