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    Home » Recipes » Cranberry Cinnamon Pumpkin Muffins

    November 7, 2023 Recipes

    Cranberry Cinnamon Pumpkin Muffins

    Jump to Recipe

    Moist, delicious cranberry cinnamon pumpkin muffins loaded with pumpkin, dried cranberries, cinnamon chips and warm fall spices. These muffins smell amazing while baking, stay moist for days and are a perfect snack or breakfast treat with a cup of tea or coffee.

    cinnamon 
pumpkin muffins with brown liners inn a pile one cut in half

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    Finally November so that means it is baking season. This is when I finally get in the mood to bake with pumpkin. Not a day sooner.

    I love making muffins and quick breads year round, usually of the banana variety, but I love to switch to fall baking flavors when the air starts to ( finally) cool down. I have made gluten free pumpkin muffins in the past ( when a friend who lived nearby was gluten free so I baked for them often) and instead of just updating those, I figured why not a whole new recipe?

    Jump to:
    • Why these pumpkin muffins are so good:
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions:
    • Baking tips:
    • Reminder:
    • Substitutions:
    • Equipment:
    • Storage:
    • Top tip
    • Weighing ingredients Vs using cups:
    • More muffins to try:
    • More pumpkin recipes:
    • Cranberry Cinnamon Pumpkin Muffins Recipe
    pumpkin muffins in a muffin tin a two on a wire cooling rack

    Why these pumpkin muffins are so good:

    • Easy to make
    • Whisk and some bowls are all you need. No electric mixers.
    • Smells amazing while baking
    • Stays moist and fresh for days.
    • The combination of pumpkin, cranberry and cinnamon is always a winner

    Ingredients

    These muffins are quick to make. Make sure you have what you need set out at room temperature first.

    • All purpose flour - you can use gluten free
    • Pumpkin pie spice - or use a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and clove ( see recipe notes)
    • Baking powder, baking soda, Kosher salt
    bowl of pumpkin bowl of sugar bowl of cranberries stick of butter paper muffin liners eggs bowl of flour bowl of cinnamon chips jar of pumpkin pie spice
    • Butter - melted ( can also use oil -see recipe notes)
    • White sugar
    • Brown sugar
    • Large eggs
    • Vanilla extract
    • Milk - can also use buttermilk or non-dairy milk
    • Pumpkin puree - NOT pumpkin pie filling, but canned 100% pumpkin
    • Dried cranberry pieces - no sugar added, just dried cranberry
    • Cinnamon chips (there are many diff brands/varieties, can get online or well stocked baking aisles

    See recipe card for quantities.

    Instructions:

    These cranberry cinnamon pumpkin muffins can be just one bowl, however you do need to melt the butter and cool it first and I like to whisk together the dry ingredients before adding to the rest of the mix. Two and a half bowl recipe.

    melted butter in a bowl, various bowls of separate muffin ingredients

    Melt the butter and add to a large mixing bowl to let cool slightly.

    melted butter and sugars in a bowl, various bowls of separate muffin ingredients

    Whisk in the sugars.

    muffin batter with an egg in a bowl, various bowls of separate muffin ingredients

    Add in the eggs one at a time. Whisk well before adding the next one.

    muffin batter being whisked in a bowl, various bowls of separate muffin ingredients

    Whisk in the vanilla.

    muffin batter being whisked in a bowl with milk, various bowls of separate muffin ingredients

    Whisk in the milk.

    pumpkin puree being added to a bowl of muffin batter, various bowls of separate muffin ingredients

    Add in the pumpkin.

    whisked

    Whisk until very smooth.

    flour added to pumpkin muffin batter muffin in a bowl, various bowls of separate muffin ingredients

    Add in the flour and stir with a spatula until just combined. You should still see some flour streaks.

    cinnamon chips and dried cranberry pieces on top of pumpkin muffin batter muffin in a bowl, various bowls of separate muffin ingredients

    Add in the cinnamon chips and cranberries. Save some cinnamon chips for adding to the tops of the muffins before baking.

    pumpkin muffin batter in a bowl small bowl of cinnamon chips muffin tin with brown liners

    All mixed and ready to bake. Do not over mix. You can spray the muffin cups with cooking spray to keep the muffins from sticking.

    muffin batter in a 12 cup muffin tin

    Fill the cups up. Add the cinnamon chips on top.

    12 cup muffin tin with 5 holes filled with pumpkin muffin batter

    My recipe makes 16-18 muffins. Depending on how full I fill them.

    Baking tips:

    Bake the cranberry cinnamon pumpkin muffins at 400 Deg F for 5 minutes. This gets a quick initial rise out of the muffins. Then lower the heat to 350 Deg F and finish baking for around 16 minutes. I always bake muffins this way and they come out perfect every time.

    The muffins are done when they bounce back when pressed lightly or when a toothpick inserted into the middle of one comes back with just a few crumbs. Don't underbake, but also don't over bake.

    12 (twelve) baked cinnamon pumpkin muffins in a muffin tin

    Reminder:

    Don't forget to reheat the oven to 400 Deg F before baking the second tin of muffins. I have done this before and while they still turn out great, they are better when they start out baking at the higher heat.

    Substitutions:

    I have made these both with regular flour and gluten free. Both ways work great.

    • Cinnamon chips - Chocolate chips, white chocolate chips or even butterscotch chips would be good. Keep in mind these wont have as strong of a cinnamon flavor if a different chip is used.
    • Cranberries- You can use fresh instead of dried, the muffins will be a lot more tart. I haven't tested these muffins with fresh before.
    • Non-dairy - the beef hamburger can be replaced with a plant-based burger to make this vegetarian
    a pile of cinnamon pumpkin muffins in brown paper liners

    Equipment:

    • Bowls - use a smaller bowl for the flour, larger bowl for everything. I love my Mason Cash mixing bowl ( even if I have chipped it twice already).
    • Whisk
    • Spatula - Love GIR spatulas.
    • Batter scoop - Size #16. I use this for muffins, cupcakes, pancakes and more.
    • Muffin Tins - Love these USA Pans for muffin pans.
    • Muffin/cupcake Liners - I love the greaseproof liners from Surfas online.

    Storage:

    Store the muffins in an air tight container at room temperature up to a week. In a freezer up to three months. Thaw at room temperature before eating.

    baked pumpkin muffins in a tin one cut in half unwrapped on top of a brown paper liner

    Top tip

    Muffins and cupcakes generally stick a little bit to paper liners unless you use thicker grease proof like I like to use ( I get them from Surfas online) and you spray the liners with a quick spritz of cooking spray or oil. These muffins stick a little the day they are baked but stick less the next day and so on.

    a pile of cinnamon pumpkin muffins in brown paper liners green napkin

    Weighing ingredients Vs using cups:

    I use my food scale and weigh out ingredients in grams because this is the most accurate way to get the best quality baked goods. Cups aren't accurate because not only are all cups not the same the sizes vary from brand to brand as well as from different countries. I have done tests with different brands of measuring cups and they all came out with different weights after I did the spoon and level as well as scoop method and then weighed in grams.

    Baking is a science and science needs accuracy. Weighing is accurate and precise. Not to mention a lot easier. Another issue with cups is that I have no control over how people use measuring cups to measure dry ingredients especially flour. You could pack in way too much which would result in a sub-par baked good. Too much flour could throw everything off. Same with not enough. Not to mention also some ingredients are difficult to measure in cups such as nuts, dried fruit, chocolate etc. This is why weighing in grams is the most accurate.

    I also use grams for most liquid measure since 100 grams equals 100 ml of water. Smaller amounts of items measured in teaspoons I usually leave as teaspoons, tablespoons are sometimes listed in grams as well but for the most part the different tablespoons I have used have all resulted in the same amount. Aside from cute, decorative ceramic tablespoons and teaspoons are never accurate. Those are better as decoration than for being used for baking.

    More muffins to try:

    Love making and eating muffins? Try these muffin recipes:

    • muffins in brown paper liners with chocolate chips tan napkin spotted bananas
      Espresso Banana Muffins with Mini Chocolate Chips
    • Rich and Moist Chocolate Avocado Muffins Recipe
    • Amazingly Delicious Tropical Cinnamon Mango Muffins
    • Jumbo Bakery Style Meyer Lemon Crumb Muffins with Meyer Lemon Curd

    More pumpkin recipes:

    Some of my favorite pumpkin recipes:

    • Pumpkin Date Shake
    • Boozy Pumpkin Eggnog Pie
    • Creamy Baked Pumpkin Mac and Cheese with Goat Cheese, Panko and Sage
    • Creamy Maple Bacon Pumpkin Risotto
    a pile of cinnamon pumpkin muffins in brown paper liners

    Cranberry Cinnamon Pumpkin Muffins Recipe

    Shanna
    Super moist pumpkin muffins studded with tart dried cranberries and sweet cinnamon chips. Perfect for breakfast, brunch, snacks or anytime you just want a tasty spiced pumpkin muffin.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 minutes mins
    Cook Time 22 minutes mins
    cooling 1 hour hr
    Total Time 1 hour hr 32 minutes mins

    Equipment

    • 1 Food Scale
    • 2 mixing bowls one large, one small
    • 1 whisk
    • 1 spatula
    • 1 batter scoop #16 size
    • 2 12 cup muffin pans
    • 16-18 paper muffin liners

    Ingredients
      

    • 115 g butter,, melted and cooled slight ( see notes for using oil instead)
    • 230 g all purpose flour
    • 2 teaspoons baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda
    • 2 ¼ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice,, OR use 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon all spice. ⅛ teaspoon clove
    • ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
    • 100 g brown sugar,, light or dark
    • 100 g granulated sugar
    • 2 large eggs,, room temperature
    • 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 60 ml 62 g milk or buttermilk
    • 425 g pumpkin puree,, one can - NOT pumpkin pie filling, only 100% pumpkin puree
    • 150 g dried cranberries pieces
    • 180 g cinnamon chips

    Instructions
     

    • Heat oven to 400 Deg F. Line a muffin tin with grease proof baking cups. Spray them lightly with cooking spray (optional).
    • Melt the butter and add to a large mixing bowl to cool slightly.
    • In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt. Set aside.
    • Once the butter has cooled but is still liquid, add in the sugars and whisk well. Next add in the eggs, whisking well after each then add in the vanilla and the milk.
    • Add in the pumpkin puree and whisk until smooth. Switch to a spatula and add in the flour mixture and stir until just combined, streaks of flour are ok.
    • Add in all of the dried cranberries and 150 g of the cinnamon chips. Mix the batter with a spatula to evenly distribute the cranberries and cinnamon chips. Don’t over mix.
    • Divide the batter between 16-18 muffin cups. Filling them pretty much to the top. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon chips over the tops of the muffins.
    • Bake for 5 minutes at 400 Deg. F. Immediately lower the heat to 350 Deg F and bake for anther 15-18 minutes, until the muffins bounce back when pressed lightly with a finger or a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out with just a few crumbs on it.
    • Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes then remove to cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
    • Don’t forget to heat the oven back to 400 Deg before baking the second pan of muffins. Bake those as above.
    • These muffins keep well up to a week in an airtight container at room temperature. They stay nice and moist. You can also keep in the refrigerator or freezer. Thaw at room temperature before eating. I never freeze them since we tend to eat them in a few days.

    Notes

    If you want to use oil in place of butter, the exchange is usually ¾ oil : 1 butter. For 115 G butter you would use 86 g oil. I would suggest using melted coconut, avocado or sunflower oil.
    You can use non-dairy milks and non dairy butter as well.
    I cannot suggest any egg substitutes as I have not tried those myself.
    A food scale is a must for accurate baking. I do not measure in cups. 
     
    f it’s your first time making this recipe then make sure you read all of the information in the main post as it includes lots of additional tips, as well as the answers to some common questions.
    If you have any further questions then do let me know in the comments and or email me [email protected] and I’ll do my best to help.
    If you choose to make substitutions to the recipe that I have not tested yet please do so at your own risk. I cannot guarantee the same results if you change a lot of the ingredients or method. However, if any of your changes are successful I would love to hear about it and will add to my recipe notes for other readers to try as well. 

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    Hi, I'm Shanna. Welcome! 16 + years food blogging. I am a self taught baker, cook and mixologist and longtime photographer. I love making healthy meals, sweet treats and fun cocktails. Hope you enjoy my recipes!

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