Leftover Cranberry Sauce Coffee Cake Muffins

Leftover cranberry sauce coffee cake muffins are the PERFECT way to transform that extra holiday cranberry sauce into bakery-style breakfast treats! These tender, buttery muffins are loaded with tangy cranberry pockets, topped with the most irresistible cinnamon-cardamom crumb topping

Love More Desserts Recipes? Try My Christmas Cranberry Bars or this Cranberry and Orange Buttermilk Cake next.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Moist, tender, and bursting with flavor, these Leftover Cranberry Sauce Coffee Cake Muffins are a delicious way to give holiday leftovers new life. Swirled with tangy cranberry sauce and topped with a buttery streusel crumb, they’re perfectly sweet with a hint of tartness. Ideal for breakfast, brunch, or snacking with a cup of coffee.

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Ingredient List

Crumb Topping:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground green cardamom
• Pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

Muffins:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1 cup cranberry sauce (whole-berry preferred; simmer briefly if runny)

Optional:

• 1 teaspoon orange zest (stir into cranberry sauce if it lacks citrus)

Substitution Notes:

• Buttermilk: I never have this. Put milk in a cup, squeeze lemon in it, wait five minutes.
• Sour cream: Greek yogurt’s fine. Full-fat though.
• Cardamom: don’t have it? Whatever. More cinnamon works.
• Jellied sauce: mash it up first.

Why These Ingredients Work

Cranberry sauce is cooked already. That’s the whole point. Fresh cranberries would leak water everywhere. Everything would be a soggy mess. Plus the sauce has sugar in it so you’re not adding tons extra.

Both buttermilk and sour cream because I made these with regular milk one time. They were dry as hell the next day. Nobody ate them. The sour tang also cuts the sweetness which you need when cranberry sauce is involved.

Brown sugar tastes better than white. More depth or whatever. You need both. Soft butter gets whipped with sugar and makes air bubbles. That’s what makes these fluffy. Melted butter makes them heavy.

The cardamom thing was pure luck. Wrong spice jar at my mom’s place. Worked out great.

Essential Tools and Equipment

Regular muffin pan, 12 cups. Paper liners. Don’t skip those. I did once to save 50 cents. Spent 20 minutes scrubbing cranberry off the pan. Not worth it.

Some kind of mixer. Stand or hand doesn’t matter. Technically you could use a spoon but why do that to yourself.

Three bowls. Whisk. Spatula. Measuring cups and spoons. Cooling rack if you have one.

How To Make Leftover Cranberry Sauce Coffee Cake Muffins

Step 1: Make That Gorgeous Crumb Topping

Throw flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, salt in a bowl. Mix. Pour melted butter in. Stir with a fork til it clumps. Leave it alone. Flour needs time to soak up the butter.

Step 2: Prep Your Pan and Preheat

Oven to 375. Line the pan with those paper cups.

Step 3: Whisk the Dry Ingredients

Flour, baking powder, cinnamon. Whisk together. Set aside. Doing this separate prevents overmixing.

Step 4: Cream the Butter and Sugars

Beat butter and both sugars 2-3 minutes. Should look fluffy and lighter. This step matters. Air bubbles make these not dense.

Step 5: Add Eggs and Dairy

Eggs one at a time. Beat after each. Then buttermilk, sour cream, vanilla. Mix til smooth. Looks weird and separated sometimes. Normal.

Step 6: Combine Wet and Dry

Mixer on low. Add all the flour stuff. Mix til you don’t see flour. Batter’s really thick. Like thick cookie dough. Stop there.

Step 7: Layer Like a Pro

Tablespoon batter in each cup. Spread it around. Half tablespoon cranberry sauce right in the middle. Not near the edges. More batter on top. Cover that cranberry completely. Tiny bit of sauce on top. This layering keeps it from sinking or leaking.

Step 8: Pile on the Crumb

Pile that crumb on. 2-3 tablespoons each. Pile it high. Press a little so it stays.

Step 9: Bake to Golden Perfection

20-25 minutes. Crumb’s golden, toothpick in the muffin comes out clean. Don’t stab the cranberry part, always sticky. Mine need 23 minutes. Start checking at 20.

Step 10: Cool (If You Can Wait!)

Let them sit in the pan 5-10 minutes. They’ll fall apart otherwise. Move to a rack. I eat one immediately every time. Burn my mouth every time.

You Must Know

Watery cranberry sauce ruins everything. Put it in a pot, let it bubble til thick. Let it cool down completely. I didn’t do this the first time. Used it hot off the stove. Melted all the butter in my batter. Had to throw the whole batch out.

Everything room temperature. Butter soft but not melted. Eggs on the counter half an hour before. Cold ingredients don’t mix properly.

Make the crumb first. Let it sit. Flour absorbs butter better that way. Get bigger chunks instead of dust.

Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks

Sauce tastes boring? Orange zest fixes it.

Stop mixing when flour’s gone. Lumps don’t matter. Overmixing makes tough muffins nobody wants.

Ice cream scoop for batter. All the same size. Bake evenly.

Check early. 20 minutes. Most ovens run hot.

Makes 12 big ones. Could do 14-15 smaller.

Flavor Variations / Suggestions

Citrus Lover’s Version: Add 1 teaspoon orange zest to the batter AND the cranberry sauce. You can even add 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest for extra zing!

Nutty Twist: Fold 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts into the batter, and sprinkle some on top of the crumb for extra crunch.

Spice It Up: Add 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger or a pinch of nutmeg to the muffin batter for more warming spices.

Chocolate Cranberry: Fold 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips into the batter. The chocolate-cranberry combo is DIVINE!

Almond Extract Swap: Use almond extract instead of vanilla for a totally different (but equally amazing) flavor profile.

Make It a Loaf: Follow the loaf pan variation below for one stunning coffee cake that serves a crowd!

Make-Ahead Options

Counter three days in a container. Stay soft.

Freeze them wrapped separate. Three months. Thaw or nuke 20 seconds.

Freeze batter in the cups without crumb. Three weeks. Thaw, add crumb, bake. Maybe extra minute.

Crumb keeps in fridge three days.

Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips

Whole-berry vs. jellied cranberry sauce: Whole-berry is my preference because it gives you those gorgeous fruit chunks, but jellied works too—just whisk it smooth first so it’s easier to work with.

The thick batter is intentional! Coffee cake muffins should have a thicker batter than regular muffins. This creates that tender, cake-like crumb we’re after.

Paper liners are a MUST for this recipe. The cranberry sauce makes these a bit sticky, and liners ensure they release perfectly every time.

Avoid the cranberry when testing: When you insert a toothpick to check doneness, aim for a spot with just cake batter, not cranberry sauce. The sauce will stay a bit sticky even when the muffin is done!

Serving Suggestions

Coffee with these. Don’t know why but works perfectly.

Tea’s good too. Fruity ones especially.

Made orange glaze before. Powdered sugar, orange juice. Fancy.

Powdered sugar on top looks nice.

Butter on the side if you want.

Holiday breakfast, brunch, weekend, Tuesday morning when you need something good. Wrapped some for my neighbor once. She texted me three times asking for the recipe.

Put them on a plate with cranberries around for looks.

Only made these first time because I was desperate. That sauce was taking up space. Now I deliberately make extra sauce just so I have leftovers for these. Honestly better than the turkey dinner.

How to Store Your Leftover Cranberry Sauce Coffee Cake Muffins

Room Temperature: Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. They’ll stay moist and delicious—no refrigeration needed!

Refrigerator: If your kitchen is warm or you want to extend their life, refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Let them come to room temperature before eating, or warm briefly in the microwave.

Freezer: These freeze BEAUTIFULLY! Wrap each cooled muffin individually in plastic wrap, then place all wrapped muffins in a freezer-safe bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for 1-2 hours, or microwave for 20-30 seconds.

Reheating: Pop a muffin in the microwave for 15-20 seconds to bring back that fresh-baked warmth and make the crumb topping extra delightful!

Allergy Information

Contains: Wheat (gluten), dairy (butter, buttermilk, sour cream), eggs

Dairy-Free Option: Use dairy-free butter sticks (not spread!), non-dairy sour cream, and make dairy-free buttermilk by mixing 1/2 cup almond or oat milk with 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice.

Egg-Free Option: Replace each egg with a “flax egg” (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 3 tablespoons water, let sit 5 minutes). Note that texture will be slightly denser.

Gluten-Free Option: Use a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour blend. Make sure it contains xanthan gum for best results. The texture will be slightly different but still delicious!

Nut-Free: This recipe is naturally nut-free, but always check your cranberry sauce ingredients if you have severe allergies.

Questions I Get Asked A Lot

Can I use homemade cranberry sauce instead of store-bought?

Yeah. Better even. Make sure thick. Cook more if not. Cool before using.

My cranberry sauce leaked out during baking—what happened?

Too thin. Simmer it first. Keep away from edges too. Touches liner, leaks out.

How do I make these in a loaf pan instead?

Grease 9×5 pan. Layer batter and sauce couple times. Crumb on top. Put pan on baking sheet. Bake 375, 50-60 minutes. Toothpick clean. Cool five minutes, flip out.

💬 Tried this recipe? Leave a comment and rating below! How’d yours turn out? Change anything? Everyone eat them all?