I know I've published a lot of muffin recipes in this column. So forgive me if this is one too many!
I've been reading through some of my old cookbooks the last few weeks and have found recipes I don't remember seeing before. That's the thing about a cookbook (or any book for that matter); you can always find something new, depending on your changing moods and tastes!
This recipe was in Taste of Home's "Light & Tasty Annual Recipes 2003." There are any number of recipes in the book that I have marked again, some you may be hearing about in coming weeks.
But it was Orange Blossom Muffins I made Monday morning, on my Easter Monday day off.
I had all of the ingredients on hand, including some orange marmalade from an earlier cooking experiment, and reduced-fat biscuit/ baking mix. I keep a box of that Bisquick product in my pantry for making pancakes.
The muffins mix up in just a few minutes. The most time-consuming jobs were chopping 1/4 cup pecans and squeezing the juice from some oranges I had on hand. (There was no orange juice in the refrigerator or I probably would have used that.) The only change I made was omitting the nutmeg in the topping and adding extra cinnamon in its place.
The muffins were in the oven -- start to finish -- in less than 15 minutes, which I think is great time. This recipe could easily be made for a weekend breakfast.
It was very tempting to taste the muffins before they cooled properly, but I did wait until they were cool enough to really appreciate the flavor. It was a perfect mid-morning snack treat for me.
The muffins are delicious. I was surprised just how tender the muffin is, and the orange flavor is a nice change from other muffin recipes I make.
If you enjoy muffins, I urge you to try this easy and tasty recipe. I made mine in full-size muffin cups, but they would be very pretty as mini muffins for a brunch.
lisa@wilsontimes.com | 265-7810
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ORANGE BLOSSOM MUFFINS
2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup sugar, divided
41/2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg *
1 tablespoon cold butter or margarine
2 cups reduced fat biscuit/ baking mix
1 egg
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup orange marmalade
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 cup chopped pecans
Coat muffin cups with non-stick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg; cut in butter until crumbly. Set aside for topping.
Place biscuit mix in bowl. Combine the egg, orange juice, marmalade, oil and remaining 1/4 cup sugar; stir into biscuit mix just until moistened. Fold in pecans.
Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.
Bake at 400 degree or 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.
Serve warm.
Yield: 1 dozen.
* I omitted nutmeg and increased the amount of cinnamon to 3/4 teaspoon.
Nutrition Analysis: One muffin equals 194 calories, 7 g fat (1 g saturated fat) 20 mg cholesterol, 255 mg sodium, 32 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 2 g protein.
Diabetic Exchanges: 1 starch, 1 fruit, 1 fat.
Taste of Home's "Light & Tasty Annual Recipes 2003"