Saturday, May 9, 2009

Whole Wheat Orange Spice Muffins

First off, I want to let you guys know that Ricki of Diet, Dessert and Dogs has an extremely awesome baking book, Sweet Freedom, that will be released on May 15. All of the recipes are made without wheat, dairy and refined sugar. Some of you might remember when I was a lucky tester for her cookbook and posted about some of the recipes. And I'll be doing another post in a few weeks to feature some more delicious things from her book. (Which are fast becoming some of my favourite treats!) Anyway, Ricki is generously giving away three paper copies and five electronic copies of her book. Check out her post about it here and see how you can enter to win (and learn how you can order it)!


Now onto some yummy muffins I made! I used to make healthy muffins almost every week but then for a while I was just baking whatever muffins/scones I wanted. Now I'm back to healthy muffins again and these were a great reintroduction. I loved the combination of orange, spice, and walnuts. There are a bunch of other muffins I want to try from Pinch My Salt, in particular the Double Dark Chocolate Beet Muffins mmm.


Other healthy muffins I've made:
Applesauce-Oat Bran Muffins
Pumpkin Pecan Raisin Muffins
Banana Bran Muffins

Whole Wheat Orange Spice Muffins
Adapted from Pinch My Salt

My adaptations were to use less sugar (1/2 cup instead of 3/4) and to use Sucanat instead of brown sugar, to use light soy milk + vinegar instead of buttermilk, and to use twice as much vanilla.

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (Ashley note: I used 342 g.)
1/2 cup flax seed meal (ground flax seeds)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 heaping teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 tbsp vinegar + 1/2 cup light soy milk
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons fresh orange zest
1/3 cup neutral flavored oil such as canola, vegetable or grapeseed
1/2 cup Sucanat
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees; grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper baking cups. Zest and juice 2 or 3 medium oranges, measure out juice and zest; set aside. Chop and measure walnuts; set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, flax seed meal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Using a wire whisk, blend ingredients together very well. This is your dry mixture. Set it aside.

3. In a separate bowl, combine beaten eggs, buttermilk, orange juice and zest, oil, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whisk together well. This is your wet mixture.

4. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir with a wooden spoon just until all the flour has been incorporated. Make sure to scrape up all the flour from the bottom of the bowl as you are mixing. Once you no longer see any pockets of flour remaining, gently fold in the walnuts.

5. Using a large spoon or an ice cream scoop, fill each muffin cup almost to the top. Divide any remaining batter between the cups so that they are somewhat equal. Put the muffins in a preheated 375 degree oven and bake for 20 minutes. Check to see if they are done by inserting a toothpick into the center of a muffin. If the toothpick comes out clean, they are done. If not, let the muffins bake an additional 2 minutes and check again. When muffins are done, let cool on a wire rack for five minutes then remove muffins from pan and let cool completely on the wire rack.

If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice on hand, you can make your own: 1 t. cinnamon, 1/2 t. ground ginger, 1/4 t. ground nutmeg and 1/4 t. ground cloves. Mix it together then scoop out one heaping teaspoon to use in the recipe. Mandarins, tangerines, or other sweet citrus may be used in place of standard oranges.

17 comments:

Pearl said...

ooh does it have a ginger cookie sort of taste?

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

They look really good. The orange, walnuts and spice must have combined together into a real tasty muffin! Great photos too Ashley :)

Erin said...

These look delicious! My mother in law would love them, so I'll have to keep these in mind next time I see her!

eatme_delicious said...

Pearl: Hmm no not really but that would be delicious! Ginger cookie muffins.

Ricki said...

I'm so glad you're enjoying the recipes! And THIS is one I know I'd love as well. Orange and spice in a muffin--perfect breakfast food! :)

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

I should go back to make healthy muffins also. Thanks for the recipe, they looks so yummy.

Snooky doodle said...

these look great i d like to bake some healthy mmuffins too :)

Johanna GGG said...

some of my favourite flavours so I'd love to make these - in fact am annoyed I forgot to buy oranges at the supermarket today

Amy said...

Mmmm awesome! I love healthy muffins!

Mermaid Sews said...

Yum, sounds delicious.

grace said...

there's something about a prickly, brittle top to a muffin that makes it look healthy. good to know that this one actually is, and i love that it has that hint of orange in it--great addition!

Teanna said...

Those looks absolutely so gorgeous! I love all of the spices you have incorporated! A perfect breakfast muffin!

kickpleat said...

these muffins sound really good! i like the addition of all that spice!

Deborah said...

These look like the perfect breakfast!

nath said...

hi... my first comment here...
delicious and healthy :)

CookiePie said...

YUM - what a great flavor combo!!

The Food Librarian said...

These look like they would be perfect for breakfast or brunch! Thanks for sharing!