These cranberry orange rosemary muffins are packed full of fresh cranberries, topped with oatmeal streusel, and drizzled with an orange glaze. These muffins are the perfect way to start your day!

I love muffins. I love eating muffins. I love slathering muffins with butter.
Basically, I love muffins.
BUT BUT BUT we have a problem!
I rarely make muffins. Seriously, what is wrong with me?
I love them so much but never think about making them myself.
In fact, a lot of the time I just swing through the coffee drive-thru and pick up a muffin.
However, this is changing. This Christmas, and the rest of the winter, I’m going to be making these muffins!
THEN because I like to take things 1 step further I topped them with a crunchy oatmeal topping and drizzled them with orange glaze.

Seriously, is a muffin really a muffin without a glaze? I think not.
Now, I know rosemary might sound like a weird ingredient to throw in a muffin but I have a serious love affair with fresh herbs in my muffins.
Over the summer I made blueberry lemon thyme muffins and it was at that moment I decided all muffins should contain herbs.
Since it’s winter I decided that I needed to bust out my fresh rosemary and put it to work.
Plus the whole rosemary and cranberry combo is the best thing EVA!
I know this because I made a delicious batch of cranberry rosemary focaccia a few years ago it was a huge crowd-pleaser.

If you’re not that big into baking I still beg of you to give these cranberry orange rosemary muffins a try.
They are pretty forgiving of the add-ins so they make customization a dream come true.
Wondering what you could sub? Use lemon zest instead of orange, add a splash of almond extract, and maybe even add some nuts to the batter. The sky is the limit!
However, one thing you should know about baking – it’s science. I KNOW. I just told you it was easy and then I told you it was science. I’m the worst.
But, I’m not wrong.
It is science and there are some things you shouldn’t mess around with unless you know what you’re doing. The first rule – use quality fresh ingredients.
The second rule of baking is don’t mess around too much.
While you can normally get away with simple things like substituting blueberries instead of cranberries, using white chocolate chips instead of semisweet in cookies, adding nuts to this recipe, etc. You can’t just do whatever you want.
You can’t just say “oh I don’t have eggs so I’m gonna just throw in more yogurt” or “I don’t have all-purpose flour so I’m gonna just use this weird bag of quinoa flour I found in the pantry” NONONO you can’t do that!
Basic things like the amount of baking soda, baking powder, eggs, flour, etc. are important.
Unless you know what you’re doing just don’t do it.
Take it from me I’ve tried some of these substitutions and it was disastrous #truelife

Ok, one teeny tiny thing I want to tell you about these cranberry orange rosemary muffins – they are not super sweet.
I did this on purpose because knew the oat topping PLUS the glaze would add a bit of sweetness.
Plus I really love the tartness of fresh cranberries.
So if you are into super sweet muffins you can always serve these muffins with a drizzle (or two) of honey. But personally, I find them perfect the way they are. They totally show off the deliciousness of fresh cranberries.
Oh, and fresh cranberries freeze beautifully so if you see them on sale at the market pick them up and throw them in the freezer.
You don’t even need to defrost them before stirring them into these muffins. How easy is that?

More cranberry recipes
- Love hand pies? Try my Cranberry Hand Pies.
- Craving an easy-to-make snack cake? Try my Vanilla Cranberry Buttermilk Cake.
- Want an easy breakfast recipe? Try my Baked Cranberry Oatmeal.
- Need a fast and easy cranberry dish? Try my Cranberry Smoothie Bowl.

Cranberry Orange Rosemary Muffins
These cranberry orange rosemary muffins are packed full of fresh cranberries, topped with oatmeal streusel, and drizzled with an orange glaze. These muffins are the perfect way to start your day!
Ingredients
For muffin batter:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 oranges, zested
- 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons minced rosemary
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste
- 1-3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 1-1/2 cup fresh cranberries
For oat topping:
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup quick oats
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- Pinch kosher salt
For glaze:
- 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons orange juice
Instructions
For muffins:
- Preheat over to 350 degrees F and line a 12-count muffin pan with paper liners, set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer add butter and cream for 1 minute.
- Add in the brown sugar and cream for another 2 minutes.
- Add in eggs, orange zest, yogurt, minced rosemary, and vanilla bean paste. Mix for 1-2 minutes or until the mixture is combined. Don't worry it will look unhomogenized but it's ok.
- In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
- Pour the wet mixture into the flour and stir to combine.
- Once the mixture starts coming together and you don't see a lot of flour add the milk and orange juice. Continue stirring until the dough is together.
- Fold in the cranberries.
- Add equal amounts of the batter to the prepared muffin pan.
- Top each muffin with the oat topping. You want to use all the topping so don't be afraid to really top those muffins.
- Bake for about 25 minutes or until the muffins are fully cooked.
- After you pull the muffins out of the oven let them cool for 10 minutes and drizzle with glaze.
For oat topping:
- Add all ingredients to a small bowl and stir to combine.
- Once fully combined set aside. If the mixture gets set up while you make the batter it's ok. Just break it apart with your hands.
For glaze:
- Whisk together until smooth.
- If it’s too thick add a little more orange juice. If it’s too thin add a little more powdered sugar.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 726Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 67mgSodium: 284mgCarbohydrates: 128gFiber: 5gSugar: 24gProtein: 16g
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For the most precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator based on the actual ingredients you used in the recipe.

Sharon
Sunday 11th of December 2022
I'm baking these up this week! They look so Christmasy! When do I add the rosemary? Is rosemary in the glaze? I see it on top of each muffin. Or is it folded in with the cranberries and also sprinkled over the glaze? Thank you for your help.
Sharon
Monday 12th of December 2022
@nutmegnanny, thank you so much for responding to my question. I'm excited to get going on these. I always grow all of my own herbs but wanted to use fresh rosemary so I purchased some today. I hope my batch looks as delicious as yours.
nutmegnanny
Sunday 11th of December 2022
Hi Sharon - I fixed the recipe and added in where you add the rosemary - thank you for letting me know! As for the topping - you can sprinkle some chopped rosemary on for extra flavor but it is not necessary. It just looks extra nice for the photos.
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[…] Want an easy muffin? Try my Cranberry Orange Rosemary Muffins. […]
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[…] Looking to try other herbs in muffins? Try my Cranberry Orange Rosemary Muffins […]
Lauren
Wednesday 7th of December 2016
These muffins look delicious!
Miranda
Wednesday 7th of December 2016
Using rosemary is such a fun idea! The combination of flavors sounds amazing!