Orange Muffins are like a little ray of sunshine in the middle of winter! This moist muffin is made with Greek yogurt, fresh orange juice and zest. They can be eaten warm, right from the oven with or without butter. They have a tender crumb and a nice citrus flavor. If you really want to kick up the orange flavor and make them look extra pretty, let them cool and add the orange glaze. It is sweet and tangy with shreds of zest that make it colorful. These tasty muffins make a great breakfast or afternoon snack.
Orange muffins can be made at any time of the year but if you make them during citrus season you will find a more interesting variety of oranges available in the markets. Try to find some Cara Cara oranges which have a slightly pink darker flesh and sweet juice, or some Blood Oranges which would make the muffin glaze really colorful.
If you see some great oranges at the market, buy a few extra and make an Orange Olive Oil Cake ,Orange Flan, Blood Orange Panna Cotta, Orange Brioche French Toast, Orange Olive Oil Donuts, Orange Ricotta Cake, Orange Beet Salad, Orange Ricotta Cookies, Blueberry Orange Yogurt Cake and Orange Blossom Honey Madeleines.
If you want to try another citrus muffin with a lemon glaze, check out Blueberry Lemon Muffins.
SOME THINGS TO KNOW: FAQ’S
INGREDIENT TIPS:
- The best oranges for baking are navel oranges, clementines and tangerines. Read Which Types of Oranges Are Best for Juicing, Baking, or Snacking?
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT NEEDED:
- Muffin Tin: Essential for shaping and baking the muffins. A standard 12-cup muffin tin works well.
- Cupcake Liners: These are optional but highly recommended. They make removing the muffins from the tin easier and help with clean-up. If you do not have liners, you can grease the muffin tin with butter or cooking spray.
- Mixing Bowls: You will need two bowls. One is for mixing the dry ingredients and another bowl for the wet ingredients before combining them.
- Measuring Cups and Spoons: Precision is key in baking, so a set of measuring cups and spoons for accurately measuring your ingredients is important.
- Whisk: A whisk is useful for mixing the wet ingredients thoroughly and for combining the wet and dry ingredients.
- Spatula: A spatula will help you fold the ingredients together without over mixing and is also great for scraping the sides of the bowls to ensure everything is incorporated.
- Zester or Grater: For zesting the orange. A fine grater or microplane zester works best for getting the zest without the bitter white pith.
- Juicer: To extract fresh juice from oranges. If you don’t have a juicer, you can also squeeze the oranges by hand or use a fork to help extract the juice.
- Toothpick: Useful for checking the doneness of the muffins. When inserted into the center of a muffin, it should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Wire Rack: For cooling the muffins after baking. Cooling on a rack helps prevent the bottoms from becoming soggy.
- Small Bowl or Cup: For mixing the glaze ingredients.
SUBSTITUTIONS:
- If you do not have fresh oranges to juice you can use frozen concentrated orange juice or bottled orange juice instead.
- The vegetable oil can be replaced with canola oil or a light olive oil.
- Any non-dairy milk like almond, soy, oat, or coconut milk can be used in place of the whole milk for a dairy-free version.
- Regular yogurt or sour cream can be a direct substitute for Greek yogurt.
- You can replace some or all of the all purpose flour for whole wheat flour. This will change the texture of the muffin batter as the wheat flour has whole grains. Check out How to Substitute Whole Wheat Flour for All Purpose Flour before you attempt this.
- You can use light brown sugar as a substitution for granulated sugar.
HOW TO STORE ORANGE MUFFINS:
- Oranges muffins should stay fresh for about two to three days at room temperature.Allow the muffins to cool completely on a wire rack before storing. This prevents condensation which can make the muffins soggy. Line an airtight container with paper towels. Place the muffins in a single layer into the container.
HOW TO FREEZE ORANGE MUFFINS:
- As with storing, make sure that the muffins are completely cool before freezing.Wrap each muffin tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. This helps to prevent freezer burn and preserves the flavor. Put the wrapped muffins into a freezer-safe bag or container.
- To thaw, remove the muffins from the freezer and let them sit at room temperature for several hours or overnight.
In a large bowl beat the egg. Add the milk, vegetable oil and Greek yogurt, orange juice and orange zest and mix together well.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine the flour mixture well.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine them together using a rubber spatula.
Divide batter between the 10 cupcake liners.
Combine the powdered sugar, orange zest and orange juice in a small bowl to make the glaze.
Orange Muffins
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Ingredients
- MUFFINS:
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
- ½ cup fresh orange juice
- 2 teaspoons fresh orange zest
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Cupcake liners
- GLAZE:
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
Instructions
MUFFIN:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the oven rack at the top of the oven.
Line a muffin tin with 10 paper liners. Press them down into the muffin cups.
In a large bowl beat the egg. Add the milk, vegetable oil and Greek yogurt, orange juice and orange zest and mix together well.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine the flour mixture well.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine them together using a rubber spatula.
Divide batter between the 10 cupcake liners. It will be about ⅓ cup batter per muffin.
Bake for 20 minutes. Ovens due vary so start looking in on the muffins at 15 minutes if your oven temperature tends to run hot. You want the top of the muffins to be completely set and golden brown.
You can serve the muffins warm without glaze or remove them from the muffin tin to a wire rack to cool.
Let the muffins cool completely if you are planning on glazing them.
GLAZE:
Combine the powdered sugar, orange zest and orange juice in a small bowl. If the mixture is too thick, add more orange juice, one teaspoon at a time until you have the right consistency. You want a thick consistency that is pourable.
Using a spoon, drizzle the glaze over the tops of the muffins.
Let them muffins sit for about 30 minutes until the glaze hardens.
