Double Orange Muffins

These muffins earn the ‘double’ in their name twice over: a tablespoon of fresh orange zest folded into the dry ingredients and three-quarters of a cup of orange juice standing in for most of the milk in the wet mix. The zest provides aromatic oils and floral citrus depth, the juice adds tangy moisture, and together they make a muffin that actually tastes like an orange instead of merely orange-flavored.

This is a simple muffin-method bake. Whisk dry, whisk wet, fold together until just combined. The lumpy batter is the right batter. Smooth-mixed batter develops too much gluten and the muffins come out tough and tunneled.

Filling the cups only half full is intentional. These rise tall and rounded with proper domes, not flat tops or overflowing mushroom caps.

Pro Tips

• Zest the orange before juicing it. Once juiced, the orange is impossible to grate cleanly.
• Use freshly squeezed juice if you can. Carton juice works but lacks the brightness of fresh-squeezed.
• Fold the wet into the dry only until you see no streaks of flour. A few small lumps are fine and will disappear in the oven.
• Cool in the pan only 5 minutes before removing. Longer in the pan and the bottoms steam and turn soggy.

Variations

• Add ½ cup dried cranberries or chopped fresh cranberries for a tart contrast.
• Stir in a teaspoon of poppy seeds for orange-poppy seed muffins.
• Brush warm muffins with an orange juice and powdered sugar glaze for a bakery-style finish.