Orange Muffins

These fresh orange muffins taste like ray of sunshine! Light and airy, these tall bakery-style confections boast delicate crisp crowns and tender fluffy middles. Drizzle them with a fruity orange muffin glaze, or give the tops a light sprinkle of sparkling sugar or powdered sugar. So delicious.

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BEST ORANGE MUFFIN RECIPE

This orange muffin recipe was first published in 2017.

In 2022, after being wowed by fresh orange muffins from a high-end bakery, I was inspired to rework my original recipe to elevate the taste and texture. [Note: The original “orange muffin glaze” recipe remains unchanged.]

During recipe development, I collaborated with a professional baker who was willing to share industry secrets and expert tips. It’s how I was able to achieve the BEST orange muffin recipe to share with you here.

Now, in your very own kitchen, you can whip up a batch of glorious orange muffins that taste just like those from a high-end bakery. You’ll be delighted by their high domes, crispy tops and moist interiors.

Additional updates to this post include fresh photography, expert tips, and a helpful user-friendly format.

Drizzle the domed tops with orange muffin glaze or a sprinkling of powdered sugar. To further enhance the citrus flavor, and for bright tantalizing color, sprinkle the muffins with orange zest. Just like you’d sprinkle confetti.

Fresh orange muffins are perfect for breakfast, mid-day snacking, Sunday brunch, Easter, Mother’s Day and Father’s day. When presented in a simple bakery box, they make a thoughtful hostess gift. As an extra touch, include a recipe card with the ingredients and directions.

INGREDIENTS

Orange Muffins

• Granulated Sugar: Aerates the batter for light tender crumbs, while providing the orange muffins with the perfect amount of sweetness.
• Salted Butter: Adds delicious richness, and savory flavor, to the recipe.
• Vegetable Oil: Adds moisture to the batter. It also slows down gluten formation, which helps keep the muffins tender and moist with a fluffy texture.
• Large Eggs: Bind the ingredients together.
• Whole Milk: Adds moisture while giving the muffin batter a creamy texture. If desired, you can use 2% milk instead. (Unsweetened almond milk and soy milk are good substitutes as well.)
• Freshly-squeezed Orange Juice: Add fresh orange flavor and moisture to the muffins.
• Pure Vanilla Extract: Enhances the flavor and sweetness of the recipe. My preference is Mexican vanilla extract because of its luxurious taste and sweet buttery aroma.
• All-purpose Flour: Is an essential ingredient for this recipe. It builds structure. Be sure to measure your flour carefully, as excess flour can make the muffins dry and dense.
• Baking Powder: Is a rising agent. During baking it forms gas bubbles that get trapped in the muffin batter. These bubbles are the air spaces that make muffins light and fluffy.
• Sea Salt: Balances the sweetness in the batter while enhancing the flavor of the other ingredients. If using kosher salt, use 1 teaspoon salt.
• Orange Zest: Enhances the orange flavor.

ORANGE MUFFIN GLAZE

• Powdered Sugar: These fine sugar crystals dissolve quickly without being heated, so the icing is smooth and creamy.
• Cream Cheese: Adds creaminess, richness and tang to the orange muffin glaze. It makes the frosting irresistible.
• Orange Juice: Adds a bright citrus flavor to the icing while balancing out the sweetness of the powdered sugar.
• Pure Vanilla Extract: Enhances the flavor of the other ingredients.
• Fine Salt: Just a pinch is needed to tamp down sweetness.
• Orange Zest: Adds additional orange flavor.

RECIPE STEPS:

ORANGE MUFFINS

RECIPE PREP: Adjust oven rack to the middle position. Preheat oven to 425°F. Pull out 2 muffin pans. Spray down a total of 14 wells, plus the top flat surface of the pans with non-stick baking spray.

• STEP 1: In a large bowl, whisk together sugar, melted butter and oil.
• STEP 2: Add eggs, milk, orange juice, and vanilla extract to the bowl. Whisk to combine.
• STEP 3: In a medium bowl, stir together the dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, baking powder, sea salt, and orange zest.
• STEP 4: Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Fold them together until just combined. The batter will be thick, and there may be some lumps, but that’s okay. Do not over-mix the batter!

• STEP 5: With a metal scoop, divide the batter between 14 wells of the prepared pans. Each well will be filled almost all the way to the top! We want tall bakery-style muffins with sky-high domes. If you won’t be glazing the muffins after baking, sprinkle the tops with white (sparkling sugar. Or after baking, sprinkle them with powdered sugar.

• STEP 6: Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F, then reduce oven temperature to 350°F and bake an additional 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of 2 muffins comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Do not over-bake or the muffins will be dry. Let them cool in the pans 5 minutes, then remove and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.

ORANGE MUFFIN GLAZE

• STEP 1: Add all ingredients to the bowl of a stand mixer (or use a medium bowl and an electric mixer): powdered sugar, cream cheese, orange juice, vanilla extract, pinch of salt. Beat until smooth.
• STEP 2: Drizzle orange muffin glaze over the top of the muffins. If serving immediately, garnish with a sprinkling of fresh orange zest. If serving the muffins later, skip the zest as it dries out quickly.

RECIPE FAQ

These are the most commonly-asked questions when making orange muffins, and the most helpful answers for recipe success.

MORE MUFFIN RECIPES

If you enjoyed this fresh orange muffin recipe, you’ll also want to make these other tasty muffins. Print them out or pin them to Pinterest.

• Bran Muffins
• Lemon Blueberry Muffins
• Pumpkin Muffins
• Sweet Buttery Cornbread

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Friends in Mexico are always requesting these scrumptious orange muffins when we get together down at the beach. My California family loves this recipe too! I’m making a double batch of these for our brunch next week.

If you enjoyed this recipe and want to make it again, give it a 5-star rating in the comments. Then be a recipe hero! Share it with a friend.

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ORANGE MUFFINS RECIPE > JOIN THE CONVERSATION

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