Orange Mini Muffins

These Orange Mini Muffins are unique in flavor and preparation!

This muffin recipe was part of a cookbook collaboration that I took part in several years ago with the Junior League of San Diego. The cookbook published was called, California Sol Food. I contributed several recipes to the book, and I tested a ton of recipes when we were putting the book together. Orange Mini Muffins made it to the breakfast section of the book. They were triple tested way back then, and all testers gave rave reviews!

How to make Orange Mini Muffins:

Be sure to scroll to the end of this post to print out the complete recipe so you can make these at home. The batter for the muffins is a combination of flour, baking soda, salt, butter, sugar, sour cream and orange zest. There are NO EGGS in this recipe. And there is an option to add-in raisins and walnuts, if you’d like. The batter for the muffins is very thick. This is normal!

Can you make this recipe as regular-sized muffins?

These are made as mini muffins for a good reason. They will taste better that way. You can try baking them as regular-sized muffins, but I don’t think as much of the orange flavor will come through because of what you do to the tops of the muffins (keep reading for that info). You can buy a super cheap mini muffin pan on Amazon.

The unique part of making these Mini Orange Muffins is that when they are still warm, you will dunk the tops in orange syrup. The orange syrup is an easy-to-make mixture of sugar and orange juice. This gives them an extra pop of orange flavor. And if they’re made into larger muffins, I feel like that flavor gets lost a little bit.

For the record, I prefer to make these without any added raisins or nuts. My family doesn’t like them. But if that’s your thing, then you should totally include them in your Orange Mini Muffins. Enjoy!

Here are a few more muffin recipes you might like to try:

• Blueberry Cinnamon Muffins
• Irish Soda Bread Muffins
• Brown Sugar Banana Muffins
• Low Fat Strawberry Cinnamon Muffins
• Oatmeal Muffins
• Lemon Blueberry Muffins
• Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Great Grains Muffins

2.21 from 5 votes

Orange Mini Muffins

By RecipeGirl.com (adapted from the California Sol Food cookbook)

These are the most delicious little breakfast muffins!

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Cook: 12 minutes mins

Servings: 24 mini muffins

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Ingredients

ORANGE SYRUP:

• ▢ 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• ▢ 1 medium orange, zested and juiced

MUFFINS:

• ▢ 2 cups all purpose flour
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1 cup granulated white sugar
• ▢ 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, at room temperature
• ▢ 1 teaspoon orange zest (from the orange you zested above)
• ▢ 3/4 cup sour cream
• ▢ 1/2 cup raisins, optional
• ▢ 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spray mini muffin pans with nonstick spray.

PREPARE THE ORANGE SYRUP:

• Combine the sugar and orange juice in a small bowl (set the zest aside); heat in the microwave for 25 seconds. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.

PREPARE THE MUFFINS:

• Sift the flour, baking soda and salt into medium bowl; set aside.
• In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the sugar, butter and orange zest until creamy. Add the sour cream and flour mixture alternately, beating just until moistened after each addition. Fold in the raisins and nuts (if using). The batter will be stiff.
• Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake 12 to 15 minutes or until the muffins test done. Let the muffins sit in the muffin tins for about 10 minutes. Gently remove the muffins and dip the tops quickly in the orange syrup. Place on a wire rack and let stand until cool.

Notes

• *You may also place the muffins on rack that is sitting on top of a rimmed cookie sheet. Drizzle a teaspoon of the orange juice mixture on top of each muffin.
• Nutritional information does not include optional raisins and walnuts.

Nutrition

Serving: 1muffin, Calories: 137kcal, Carbohydrates: 21g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 14mg, Sodium: 182mg, Potassium: 31mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 175IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 13mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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