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Orange Muffins

Total Time: 30 minutes ★★★★★ 1 Reviews Jump to Recipe

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These Orange Muffins are moist and flavorful, slightly sweet with an orange simple syrup for the perfect finishing touch.

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Muffins are always a great way to start off the morning! For more easy, weekday muffin recipes, try these Brown Sugar Muffins, these Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, or these Cinnamon Muffins.

Orange muffin made with fresh orange juice with a bite taken from it.

These Orange Muffins may not look like much. After all, muffins usually are quite unassuming – and I think that is part of their charm.

But while these may look quite plain, they really are not.

An orange muffin is brushed with a sticky orange sauce that seeps into the muffin and creates a moist, delicious breakfast treat.

These are definitely a delicious way to start your morning!

Ingredients to make Orange Muffins.

Ingredients

  • Sugar: You need sugar for both the muffins and the syrup.
  • Butter: I like to use unsalted butter. If you use salted butter, you’ll want to cut back on the salt just a bit.
  • Sour Cream: This will give the muffins some great texture and help to keep them moist.
  • Eggs: I use large eggs.
  • Flour: I have only tested this recipe using all-purpose flour.
  • Baking Soda: This recipe uses baking soda as its rising agent. Note that you will need to use buttermilk to activate the baking soda.
  • Salt: The salt balances and enhances the flavors.
  • Buttermilk: If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you’ll want to make a buttermilk substitute.
  • Orange Zest & Juice: Since you need both the zest and the juice, you’ll want to use a fresh orange. It will give you the best flavor, too.
Steps to make orange muffins.

How to Make Orange Muffins

  1. Mix together your butter and sugar.
  2. Beat in the sour cream, followed by the eggs, one at a time.
  3. Add the flour, baking soda and salt, and start to mix the batter together. It will be stiff and dry – you don’t have to mix it all the way, just partially.
  4. Add in the buttermilk and continue to mix, just until it is mostly combined.
  5. Add the orange zest.
  6. Fold the batter together just until it is combined. You don’t want to overwork the batter.
  7. Fill a muffin tin that has been greased with the batter and bake the muffins.
  8. While the muffins are baking, make an orange syrup with sugar and orange juice.
  9. When the muffins are done, brush them with the syrup while they are still hot. Let the syrup soak in for a bit before removing the muffins.

Orange Muffins Video

If you are a visual learner, here is a video showing you how to make these Orange Muffins.

You can also watch it on YouTube.

Orange muffins with an orange simple syrup on a wooden board.

Tips and Tricks

As with all muffin recipes, make sure you are not overworking the batter. The less you stir it, the more tender the muffins will be.

You can choose to skip the orange simple syrup. They will still be delicious, but the syrup adds a delicious layer of flavor.

These muffins are best served the same day they are made. They are a bit sticky, and will get stickier the longer they are stored. If you do have leftovers, keep them at room temperature in an airtight container.

Orange muffins with orange slices on a long cutting board.

More Muffin Recipes

Oatmeal Muffins
Classic Bran Muffins
Morning Glory Muffins
Raspberry Muffins with White Chocolate Chips
Cinnamon Roll Muffins
Zucchini Muffins
Banana Muffins

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Orange muffins with an orange simple syrup on a wooden board.

Orange Muffins

★★★★★

5 from 1 review
  • Author: Deborah Harroun
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 14 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 12 muffins 1x
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: American
Print Recipe

Description

These Orange Muffins are moist and flavorful, slightly sweet with an orange simple syrup for the perfect finishing touch.

Scale

Ingredients

For the muffins:

  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 2 tablespoons sour cream
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup buttermilk
  • 1 tablespoon orange zest

For the syrup:

  • 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup orange juice

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper liners.
  2. IN a large bowl, beat the sugar and the butter together until combined. Beat in the sour cream. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating between each addition.
  3. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt to the sugar mixture and mix until halfway combined. Pour in the buttermilk and stir just until combined, then fold in the orange zest.
  4. Divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake in the preheated oven until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 12-14 minutes.
  5. When the muffins are almost done baking, combine the sugar and the orange juice in a small pan and place it over medium heat. Cook until the sugar is dissolved.
  6. When the muffins are done, remove from the oven and brush the orange syrup over the tops of the muffins. Allow the muffins to cool for a few minutes before removing from the pan.

Recipe Notes:

Nutrition information provided as an estimate only. Various brands and products can change the counts. Any nutritional information should only be used as a general guideline.

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 muffin
  • Calories: 253
  • Sugar: 23 g
  • Sodium: 185 mg
  • Fat: 9 g
  • Saturated Fat: 5 g
  • Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
  • Trans Fat: 0 g
  • Carbohydrates: 40 g
  • Fiber: 1 g
  • Protein: 4 g
  • Cholesterol: 54 mg

Keywords: orange muffins, muffin recipe

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Comments

  1. Gaile Hennig says

    I only have dry buttermilk. It isn’t as thick as buttermilk though. Is there a way to thicken it up?

    Reply

    • Deborah says

      I haven’t used dry buttermilk very much, but I’m guessing that once reconstituted, it should work just fine in these muffins!

      Reply

  3. Karen K says

    These are delicious! Thank you so much!! I have never used a simple syrup before. It was so easy and makes the muffins moist with extra flavor. I just found your website and will be back to try more of your recipes.

    ★★★★★

    Reply

  5. Heather of Kitchen Concoctions says

    I have dreamt of a carefree – doing nothing but laying by the pool, reading books, and traveling – type of summer ever since the summer before I was old enough to start working. The summer when I had to grow up! Maybe one day I can be a kid again, if just for the summer!

    Reply

  8. Joanne says

    Gah! I totally know that feeling…it’s going to be a hectic next few weeks for me and I just don’t want to do it! But I guess everything that needs to get done will…right?

    These muffins sound like such a simple pleasure…just what I need right now!

    Reply

  12. Laura Dembowski says

    These muffins look great! Syrup on muffins or cake is always a winner. I was just telling my mom how I missed some of the things about being young. Not many, but a few, like sleeping in and not counting calories or worrying about how much gluten I’m eating, not blogging and Tweeting and Facebooking. It was such a carefree time. But then again, school made me cry everyday and I was exhausted all the time, so it’s a mixed bag.

    Reply

  16. Chels R. says

    mmm! I’m loving Orange flavored things right now. I just tried the new Orange Valencia refresher from Starbucks and just about died it was so good. These look like perfection!

    Reply