Pumpkin-Cranberry Muffins

Just baked a batch of these muffins and wished I'd double the recipe to freeze more!  Took the advise of other reviewers and reduced the white sugar to 1/2 cup, used 1/2 cup of light sour cream instead of buttermilk and adorned the top of the muffins with a few chocolate chips.  Thank you for posting this wonderful recipe as I'd been looking for a good pumpkin muffin recipe for years.  

Have made many times over the years.  Always a hit.  They don't seem overly sweet to me with cranberries.  If I used raisins I'd probably cut it back.

These muffins are delicious. Like other reviewers, I cut the white sugar to 1/2 cup, and could cut it even more. I think I'll try 1/3 cup next time. I used the Trader Joe's orange flavored dried cranberries, and added some chopped walnuts. I think that chopped fresh cranberries would also be good. I didn't use a mixer but just mixed them up with a whisk. A keeper!

I made these following the given recipe, and they were good. But to cut calories the next time I made them, I used only 1/2 cup white sugar and that was plenty sweet. I added 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and grated a little fresh nutmeg into batter. I found I did not have to use my mixer...just mixed by hand. They freeze very well.

Excellent! I reduced the sugar by 1/4 cup, and was sweet enough. The amount of spices was enough for me, the ginger nicely and mildly came through. It's a keeper!

I followed the instructions exactly as listed above except instead of canola oil I used extra light olive oil and they are absolutely amazing! Incredibly simple to make. I am just teaching myself how to bake and they are simple and good! I will make them again!

I followed the recipe the first time and they were delicious! This second time I made them, I reduced the granulated sugar, and added chopped walnuts and Trader Joe's orange flavored cranberries. Scrumptious!

I made this for a staff meeting at work the week before Thanksgiving. Everyone loved them! I added chopped walnuts and some roasted flax seed. I also left the cranberries whole instead of chopping. After spooning the batter into the muffin tin, I put a few cranberries and walnuts on top. They were beautiful as well as delicious. One friend commented: "They weren't too sweet and I could taste multiple layers of flavor." High compliments!

Absolutely delicious and a keeper! I went along with others' suggestions and only used 1/2 c. white sugar and the 1/4 c. brown; I also used 1/2 white, 1/2 whole wheat flour. Instead of buttermilk, I used a container of vanilla non-fat Greek yogurt. I did not add the cranberries, and made it into a quick bread instead of muffins (which increased the cooking time to 45-50 min.). This is now the only pumpkin bread I'll ever make--and you would never know it was low-fat! I'm sure it's delicious with cranberries, as well--

I just made these "muffins" as a nice quick breakfast alternative to kick off my wife and I's diet! So to cut back on the carbs I made a few adjustments below and it turned out PERFECT! Flour Alternative: 1 cup flour 1/2 cup Stone Oats (food process first to make a lighter oat) 2 tbsp of Chia Powder * then I kept everything the same EXCEPT I added a splash more low fat buttermilk and a big spoonful of applesauce to help with the fact that chia and oats absorb more moisture. I also cut back on the sugar by about a 1/4 of a cup bc someone said these were sweet. I baked in a tart pan instead of muffins, left out the cranberries and it is delish! Great for young kids - super healthy with great fiber and antioxidants!

These were really great! I took other reviewers' advice and decreased the sugar by 1/4 cup. I also used half whole wheat flour in place of some of the white flour. They turned out perfect! Just sweet enough, but not too sweet. My new favorite pumpkin muffin recipe!

Delicious! The first time I made them I found them too sweet and with too many cranberries. This time I reduced the white sugar to 1/2 cup, eliminated the cranberries entirely in favor of some chopped pecans, and used 1/2 cup low fat sour cream instead of buttermilk. Turned out great!! I'll make them that way again.

These were fabulous! I tweaked the recipe a little, following the suggestions of another: used whole wheat flour, oats, ground flaxseed, 1/2 c brown sugar and added walnuts. I'd make them again just the same.

Delicious! I've shared this recipe with many friends. These are great anytime of year, despite pumpkin and cranberries being holiday foods.

My husband loves these. I added 1/3 fresh cranberrries to the dried ones, and it makes them a little less sweet. However, I've made them 3 or 4 times, and my batter always comes out soupy, like a cake batter. I have ended up adding half a cup of flour to make it more of a muffin consistency. I like the spices the way they are, and I use fresh (cooked) squash which I drain before adding. I also don't chop up the dried cranberries---why bother?

Like others, I made some changes! I used cardamom rather than cloves (because I'd just been grinding cardamom prior and still had extra). I also used 3/4C of the granulated sugar and 1/4C of Splenda. Turns out I could have just cut back on the sugar. Lastly I substituted whole wheat pastry flour for the all-purpose flour. It makes for a slightly denser muffin, but I think that's ok! These are so moist and tasty!

Love it, love it with a few changes! Used 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour,1/2 cup old fashioned oatmeal, and 2 tbs flaxseed meal instead of the 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour. Also used 3/4 cup packed brown sugar (next time will cut back to 1/2 cup) and eliminated the white sugar. Used fresh cranberries instead of the dried sweetened variety and the muffins were plenty sweet. This recipe made a tender sweet well seasoned muffin that the entire family enjoyed and I think it is healthier than the original.

These were so good! I absolutely love the fall flavors. I also omitted the white sugar and used 3/4 cup of light brown sugar. I also used 1 cup of white whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup of regular flour. Since I saved a lot of calories with reducing the amount of sugar, I added 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts. I will definitely make these again and again. They freeze well too, which makes for an easy breakfast or snack!

Very yummy! I followed some other reviewers suggestions and left out granulated sugar and added more brown sugar. I didn't have cloves, so I added pumpkin pie spice instead and it gave the muffins it a good flavor. I will definitely make these again.

I use fresh cranberries instead of Craisins and add a dash more cinnamon than called for in the recipe. If you aren't counting calories, try a handful of nuts for added flavor and a nice crunch.

Took these to a Christmas brunch with vanilla-honey whipped butter...huge hit, many requested the receipe + hubby loves them and the best part...low fat!

Super good. Definitely sweet. Used total 1/2 cup brown sugar splenda blend. Could use less. Used whole wheat pastry flour and generous 1 cup fresh cranberries. Baked for 20 min.

DELICIOUS! Didn't change the recipie at all. Made as a part of a brunch buffet. So good when they're straight out of the oven. The tops had a great crisp to them. Will definately make again.

These were delicious & moist but I thought the amount of sugar was too much. They were sooo sweet & can't imagine how they ended up as a Cooking Light recipe. There was enough sugar to turn anyone into a diabetic. But I think these would be great as an occasional sweet treat. Very addictive muffins.

Really good muffins. I didn't change much - just used my own pureed pumpkin rather than canned.

People come over to our house just to eat these. I got someone who doesn't like muffins to eat one and they said it was amazing. The only thing I added was, I used the Ocean-spray craisins that are soaked in blueberry juice and after they cooled I dipped the tops in butter and cinnamon sugar.

These were great! I doubled the recipe: used half sugar/ half Splenda and 2 cups white flour 1 cup white wheat flour. I also used dried cherries instead of cranberries (only because that was what I had). I think I added a little nutmeg too. If you make mini muffins they take about 20 minutes. Highly recommended!

These were very moist and yummy! I did add some chopped pecans. Next time I'll add a little more cinnamon and maybe some fresh nutmeg.

Great recipe for pumpkin muffins--my kids and their friends ate the whole batch. I made exactly as is. Easy, quick, and very good!

These were so yummy! I love love pumpkin so I didn't put buttermilk but put a 15 oz. can of pumpkin instead. I baked them the same amount of time and used the exact same measurements on everything else. I DID add a little extra craisins.

I baked these in muffin top pans for 14 min and they are absolutely delicious. I also mixed together 1 T white sugar with 1/2 T brown sugar and sprinkled it over the muffin tops just before I popped them in the oven. They came out with a nice crunchy topping, gorgeous color and a fabulous fall flavor. This recipe is definitely a keeper.

Just made these and they are absolutely fantastic! Delicious! I used fresh pumpkin that I had on hand, and I substituted 1/2 cup of plain Greek yogurt for the 1/2 cup of buttermilk (buttermilk is not available where I live). The end result is moist and YUMMY! Will make these again and again.

Delicious, however I really don't like pumpkin, so, I use butternut squash instead. Sometimes I use fresh cranberries, and sometimes I use the dried and sometimes I add chopped walnuts.

this is an outstanding recipe especially if you use real, fresh pumpkin instead of canned. it is more work but definitely worth it.

I don't usually review, but these muffins were really great. I used fresh cranberries that I had frozen from the previous year and the result was fantastic! Looked and tasted wonderful!

I wish I read the reviews about cutting back on the sugar. I found them too sweet for a muffin. I had cut alittle on sugar but not enough. I will try fresh cranberries next. Great Muffin!

Excellent recipe! I'm going to try choc chips or nuts in place of the cranberries next time. I upped the cinnamon to 1 tsp because I like a lot of cinnamon. I also used half whole wheat flour.

These are some of our favorite muffins! Easy and delicious. The first time I made them I didn't have buttermilk so I used 1/4 cup plain nf yogurt and 1/4 cup milk. I've also made them with fresh pumpkin and would say they are about the same either way (a little better with fresh pumpkin). These are bigger than your average muffins. I've made it into a cake a couple of times, and that works great too. It's a family fave :)

These were awesome! I made a crumbly topping with 2Tbl flour, 2Tbl brown sugar, and 3tsp oil. I also reduced the white sugar to 3/4 cup like others have suggested. I love the pumpkin muffins at Dunkin Donuts, but I can't eat that many calories (630!!) in good conscience. These have 1/3 the calories and 90% less fat. Yes, they are smaller, but I don't need a muffin the size of my head anyway.

These muffins had good flavor. After cutting the granulated sugar to 3/4 cup as previous reviews suggested, they were still sweeter than I prefer muffins to be. I also subbed fresh pureed pumpkin for the canned and the batter's consistency was very thin compared to typical muffin batters. There was no way it would make just 12 muffins--I ended up with 16 muffins filling them nearly to the top of the paper cup. Then, of course, the muffins were more flat-topped. I'd like to try this with canned pumpkin to see what they're really suppose to look/taste like.

I'm not a very big fan of pumpkin, but I thought that these muffins were pretty tasty. The only alteration to the recipe that I made was to cut down on the sugar. The recipe calls for 1 cup, but I found 3/4 cups to be sufficient.

GREAT recipe! I left out the ground ginger simply because I didn't have any and didn't want to go out to buy some. I used a full cup of sugar and thought they were just right; not too sweet at all. But although the recipe says it yields a dozen muffins, I got 23 out of this recipe. I may half it next time if that's doable. Also, as a side note, these are really good with cream cheese spread on them, just like you would put on a bagel. DELICIOUS!

Muffins are as good as those I have bought at a local bakery. I used chocolate chips instead of cranberries and followed the advice of other reviewers and reduced sugar by 1/4 cup. I used all brown suger and still got a texture that was more fine than coarse. I replaced canola oil with coconut oil, because that is what I use in cooking. Replaced buttermilk with plain yogurt. Tweaked spices to 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. ginger and 1/4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice. First batch didn't last long enough for freezing. My hubby and two teens loved the muffins. I plan to bake these often.

Great recipe...muffins are incredibly moist and tasty. Agreed with other reviewers and reduced the granulated sugar by 1/4 cup...didn't miss it. Recipe doubles easily. I also substituted fresh cranberries for the Craisins...gives a wonderful tart contrast to the pumpkin muffin...too sweet otherwise. I bet the base recipe would be terrific with chocolate chips (instead of cranberries) for a sweeter treat. Kids LOVED them...definitely a keeper!

WOW! These muffins are going to be a permanent staple in my house. I did change the recipe a bit. First, I create my own gluten free flour mix that I used in place of the all-purpose flour. Second, I used fat free vanilla yogurt instead of buttermilk. Finally, I used pepitas (pumpkin seeds) instead of cranberries. These muffins turned out to be moist, airy, light and delicious! Even if you use all-purpose flour, these are great! I do recommend the pepitas - it's an easy way to add some protein and other vitamins.

My boyfriend asks for these muffins year round! He LOVES them. I think that the cranberries in this recipie make the muffins a bit too sweet (but that is just me). I usually use dark brown sugar and these muffins come out great. I have used whole wheat flour before but my muffins did not rise.

My very favorite pumpkin muffins are made with a mix, if you can believe it - Trader Joe's pumpkin mix which is only available in the fall so I stock up for the year. But I am actively seeking a recipe that will make as good or better muffins from scratch. This muffin was good but didn't quite measure up. It was moist and had decent flavor but the bar has been set so I'm still looking...

OUTSTANDING! :) Loved these muffins. Also cut the sugar by 1/4 cup and added 1/8 tsp of allspice as well as an extra 1/4 tsp of cinnamon and a full cup of cranberries as suggested by other reviewers. They turned out great!

These muffins are excellent. I cut down on the sugar as some other reviewers suggested and was happy with the result. I also subbed plain nonfat yogurt for the buttermilk and 1/4 c. sugar plus 1 tbsp. molasses for the brown sugar since that is what I had and I think it worked great and I also added a bit of pumpkin pie spice. I did not find the dried cranberries to be too sweet and am very happy with the results; I will definitely make again.

THESE MUFFINS ARE THE BEST! I love that they are delicious but not high in fat or overly sweet. I omitted the cranberries the first time I made them because I did not have them on hand, but liked them better without. Both bakers or granulated sugar are fine, and if you don't have buttermilk, 1 cup of milk and 1 tbs of vinegar will do the trick. Oh yeah, even my dad who complains about having baked goods in the house enjoyed them and asked me to make them again!

This was the best muffin recipe I've made. I prefer low-fat, high-fiber muffins and they all taste dry. The pumpkin makes these very moist. I used fresh cranberries because I love the tart juicy flavor and did not add any sugar to compensate. They were great!

I had to use currents instead of cranberries, which was fine. I think it tasted too much of cloves, and would reduce that amount next time. Light, fluffy texture.

i brought these to work and they were an absolute hit. they're great when heated up and spread with butter. the pumpkin makes them moist without adding a lot of fat, and it's easy to make a bunch of them and freeze some for later.

Solid recipe. I did all the changes like adding more cinnamon, and allspice, and more crasins, and a bit more(3/4 cp) buttermilk. I reduced sugar to 3/4cp-2 tblsp of brown sugar in total. My muffins came out nice and moist and light. But next time I'll use more spice, pump seeds and fresh cranberries. Crasins are too sweet.

Perfect! I added a handful of bran and replaced the white flour with WW pastry. A staple.

These muffins are delicious and super easy to make. I also followed some other reviews and reduced the sugar by 1/4 and added 1 cup of cranberries. Yummy and already have a second batch in the freezer.

Loved this recipe, but with changes. Based on other feedback about the sugar, I eliminated the granulated sugar altogether and upped the brown sugar to 3/4 cup. Used 1 cup of craisins, added 1/8 tsp. of allspice, upped the cinnamon to 3/4 tsp, and added 2 tbl of raw pumpkin seads. Sprinkled more seeds on top before baking. Only needed to bake them for 20 minutes in my oven. Husband was very happy. Will definitely make these again.

My daughter's friend from college requests these muffins every time he comes to visit. I usually send a dozen back to school with him and he doesn't share with his roommates! LOVE THESE!