Orange Raspberry Muffins

If you've been following my blog for a bit, you know how important a good breakfast is in our house. I have a few things that I make over and over like the Morning Glory Muffins, the Strawberry Oatmeal Smoothie (especially in the summer), and my freezer always has Breakfast Burritos in it. For me, it is important that my family always has the opportunity to grab something on the run that is made with wholesome, fresh, and most importantly, natural ingredients.

School is starting up again, so I was busy this weekend baking a couple of different muffins for breakfast variety. I always bake my muffins and then end up freezing most them. This way, they can either be taken out the night before to thaw on the counter, or the kids can "nuke" them for a few seconds in the microwave and are good to go. Freezing them works out perfect for us since there always seems to be something available to eat, and I don't run into the problem of food spoiling or getting stale before it can be eaten up.

Both of the muffins I chose were out of Dorie Greenspan's book Baking: From my home to yours, and they are simply wonderful. The first one, which I'm featuring today, is an Orange Berry Muffin. Dorie's original recipe called for blueberries, but since I had just purchased fresh raspberries, I decided to go that route.

The muffin is made quickly and without dirtying a stand mixer. All you need is a couple of bowls, a whisk, and a spatula. The recipe has you using orange zest, which gets rubbed into the sugar (one of Dorie's trademark moves), along with the juice of the orange. Buttermilk, with the acidity of the orange makes these muffins very tender. A little bit of honey, and a very small amount of sugar (only 1/3 cup) make these muffins perfect for breakfast and let the fruit be the real star of this recipe.

These muffins were hands down one of the best fruit muffins I have ever made. I loved that they were tender, and juicy, but not too sweet. In fact, they were perfect, especially when enjoyed with a cup of coffee in the morning. This recipe is definitely a keeper. I can't wait to try these muffins again with blueberries, blackberries, or even cherries.

Orange Raspberry Muffins

(adapted from Baking: From my home to yours)

(Makes about 16 muffins)

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients:

Grated zest and juice of 1 orange

About 3/4 cup buttermilk

2 large eggs

3 tablespoons honey

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1/3 cup sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups raspberries - fresh, preferably, or frozen (not thawed)

Decorating sugar, for topping (optional)

Preparation:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Butter or spray the molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

Pour the orange juice into a large glass measuring cup or a bowl and pour in enough buttermilk to make 1 cup. Whisk in the eggs, honey and melted butter.

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance or orange strong. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don't worry about being thorough - the batter will be lumpy and bubbly, and that's just the way it  should be. Stir in the raspberries. Dived the batter evenly among the muffins cups.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes. If you want to top the muffins with decorating sugar, sprinkle on the sugar after the muffins have baked for 10 minutes. When fully baked, the tops of the muffins will be golden and springy to the touch and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins will come out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold.

Orange Creamsicle Cookies

When I saw this recipe on several of the blogs I read I knew I had to give this one a go. Since my husband is a proclaimed chocolate hater, I'm always looking for good alternatives that he would enjoy as well. The cookie is a simple cookie with only a few ingredients but with the addition of freshly grated orange zest and white chocolate chips this sugar cookie is transformed into the orange vanilla childhood treat many of us grew up with - the orange creamsicle.

This cookie is made quickly with all the ingredients usually available in my house. The original recipe was from Guittard Chocolate and calls for such, but I made this with Ghirardelli white chocolate chips with equally wonderful results. Baking time is short (only 8 minutes) and the cookies are knocked out in no time. Fresh out of the oven they were divine. Crunchy on the outside and with a slight chew on the inside. Just how I like my cookies. 

These cookies were a big hit with my family and neighbors. In fact my husband has already requested them again and nothing pleases me more then food that he enjoys. Hope you will give this one a try, it is a winning combination!

Orange Creamsicle Cookies 
(Print this Recipe)

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons fresh orange zest, grated
12 ounces white chocolate chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and creamy. Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth. Gradually add flour mixture until combined. Stir in orange zest and chocolate chips.

Drop rounded tablespoons (I use an ice cream scoop for this) onto parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake 8 - 10 minutes or until golden brown around edges. Cool for several minutes on cookie sheets before transferring to rack to cool completely. Store in airtight container.

Adapted from: Guittard