Whole Wheat Apple Orange Muffins
2011 © copyright Savory Simple, all rights reserved
I’ve always been the type of person who thinks ‘what do I feel like cooking or baking this week?’ I brainstorm some ideas and then I’m off to the grocery store to pick up whatever I need. It occurred to me recently that such thinking, while gratifying, isn’t exactly economical. I have an entire pantry and fridge full of supplies. Why not simply search around for ingredients I have on hand and go from there? This is probably what the rest of the universe already does, but sometimes I look past the obvious. Since we’re on a bit of a restricted budget right now, it’s my new plan. And that is how this entry came to be.
I hesitate to call these Whole Wheat Apple Orange Muffins because the orange flavor didn’t come through as much as I expected it to. But it was there. I added 2 tablespoons of fresh orange juice and 1 tablespoon of orange zest. I contemplated adding 1 tsp of pure orange extract but went against my better judgement. Next time I’ll definitely add that and I recommend you do the same if you want an orange flavor that stands up to the apples. All that being said I think the orange ingredients definitely brightened up the recipe with a delicate aftertaste. The final product was ridiculously moist and the brown sugar topping added the perfect crunch.
I’ve adapted this recipe from King Arthur Flour. Aside from the oranges, I also added more apples.
Yield: 18 muffins
Ingredients:
- 4 ounces whole wheat flour
- 4 1/4 ounces all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
- 4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar, divided into 1/4 and 1/2 cup
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
- 3 small apples
Method:
- Preheat the oven to 375. Grease and flour 2 muffin tins or line with wrappers and grease the inside of those (I prefer using a combo spray such as Spectrum Cooking Spray with Canola Oil and Flour. Great time saver.)
- Mix together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and zest.
- In a separate bowl, cream the butter, sugar and 1/4 cup of the brown sugar on medium-high until pale and fluffy. Add the egg and mix well; stop once to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl. Turn the mixer to low and slowly alternate adding the flour mixture with the buttermilk, starting and ending with flour. Mix until just combined.
- Peel, core and dice the apples (this is a great time saver). Fold them into the muffin batter along with the orange juice.
- Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups (a cookie scoop helps create perfectly shaped muffins), sprinkling the remaining 1/2 cup brown sugar on top. It will look like a lot of sugar but it adds a wonderfully sweet crunch to the top of the muffins.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven, cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then gently turn the muffins out onto a rack to finish cooling completely.
Apple and orange – nice! What a pity the end result wasn’t as flavourful as you would have liked – still a great recipe though.
Have a happy day.
:-) Mandy
Even though the orange flavor was slightly lacking, they were delicious! They didn’t last a day :)
Looks great! Even if they were not orangey enough. :)
Thanks!
King Arthur whole wheat flour = a pantry staple for me! Definitely going to watch your blog for any bread recipes using it. Have been searching high and low.
I love King Arthur flours and I really enjoy their recipes. I used their bread flour for my pumpkin challah bread but you could certainly try substituting the whole wheat variety. It might change the texture slightly but it will be healthier :)
http://savorysimple.net/2010/11/16/pumpkin-challah-bread/
I love apple in muffins.. these will be lovely.. c
If you try them let me know what you think! Thanks for visiting :)
SS, do you know what the adjustments might be for using a mini-muffin pan? I’m ‘bach-in-it’ right now and a whole tray of regular muffins may go to waste.
Thanks!!
Follow the same recipe and I’d start the toothpick test around 5 minutes earlier. I usually make one large pan and one mini pan and I keep the minis for myself!
Another delicious post. My list is growing! I wish these were sitting in front of me right now. :)
I had to send the bulk of them to my hubby’s office or I would have inhaled the entire batch!
You have an absolutely beautiful blog! I can’t wait to read more :)
Stunning photography and recipes
Thank you so much! Yours is wonderful as well!
These look and sound wonderful! Thank you for providing such amazing deliciousness! Take care.
Attractingwellness.net
They just look like good muffins. I love the wholemeal flour, I’ll have to give these a go.
Anything that uses brown sugar and apples is ok in my book. These look great.
Hi! Thanks for stopping by blog earlier. :-)
I love your recipes! Already added some to my to-do list. This recipe is a great way to use up the apples and oranges in my fridge. I’m thinking of maybe adding more of the orange juice to increase the flavor.
Thanks for visiting my blog! Your recipes look yummy… I will have to try some.
These muffins look delicious! I bet the brown sugar on top is irresistible:) beautiful photo too! Thanks for stopping by my blog and liking a post.
Beautiful post and blog! This recipe is right up my ally. Here is how to get the orange to “pop” more: add orange peel powder in addition to fresh orange zest. Instead of orange juice, use a few tablespoons of orange juice concentrate. Also, add some chopped mandarin oranges in the batter along with the apple pieces. A classic spin on this recipe would be to add some chopped cranberries. I think some walnuts would be divine in these muffins. Fantastic!