A Muffin Born of Christmas Mornings
Ashley Evans
There’s something about Christmas mornings that feels softer than the rest of the year. The house is quiet, the light is pale and hopeful, and the kitchen smells like citrus peel and something sweet waiting in the oven. These muffins feel like they were born for that moment—bright with orange, tart with cranberry, and finished with a gentle drizzle of icing like fresh snow on the windowsill.
They’re the kind of muffin you bake while still in slippers, when the coffee is strong and the world hasn’t quite woken up yet.
These muffins taste like Christmas feels.
Like mornings when the house is still sleepy and the tree lights are the only thing awake. When the air smells like oranges and pine needles and something sweet baking in the oven. Cranberries burst like little holiday surprises, and the orange keeps everything bright—even on the grayest winter day.
I imagine these muffins being baked in an old kitchen, handwritten recipe card smudged with flour, someone humming softly while snow taps the window. They’re not fancy. They’re familiar. Comforting. The kind of recipe that gets passed down simply because it made people feel warm.
Best enjoyed with coffee, cozy socks, and nowhere you need to be.
Orange & Cranberry Christmas Muffins with Vanilla Snow Icing
Ingredients
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Zest of 1 large orange
• ½ cup fresh orange juice
• ½ cup milk
• ⅓ cup vegetable oil or melted butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1½ cups fresh or frozen cranberries (roughly chopped if large)
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🤍 Vanilla Snow Icing
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2–3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
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How to Make Them
1. Preheat oven to 375°F and line a muffin tin with paper liners.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and orange zest.
3. In another bowl, mix orange juice, milk, oil, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
4. Gently fold wet ingredients into dry—stir just until combined.
5. Fold in cranberries.
6. Divide batter evenly into muffin cups.
7. Bake for 18–22 minutes, until tops are lightly golden and a toothpick comes out clean.
8. Cool slightly.
For the icing, whisk powdered sugar, orange juice, and vanilla until silky. Drizzle over warm muffins and let it drip naturally—no need to be tidy.