Heat the oven to 400 F. Grease and flour a muffin tin or line the muffin cups with parchment paper liners.
Toss the cranberries with 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar.
Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and remaining 1 cup of sugar in a mixing bowl; whisk to blend. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
In a separate bowl whisk the eggs with the milk; stir into the flour mixture just until moistened.
Gently fold the chopped nuts, orange zest, and sugared cranberries into the batter.
Fill the muffin cups about two-thirds full.
Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.