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Orange Muffins with Glaze from The Buttercup Bake Shop Cookbook by Jennifer Appel

Orange Glazed Muffins

Light and delicious, these Orange Glazed Muffins from The Buttercup Bake Shop Cookbook by Jennifer Appel are a handful of happiness on a gloomy Gus kind of morning, what with their bright flavor and coloring. The original recipe uses pecans in the batter and as a garnish. I did not include any nuts when I made them, but I did include them in the recipe below (I was out). I do think it would be nice to top the glaze with a sprinkling of chunky coarse sugar, for a little sparkle. With the glaze, a garnish is unnecessary, so don't feel like you HAVE to do anything extra.
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Servings 12 Standard Muffins, Plus 9 Mini Muffins

Ingredients
  

Orange Muffins

  • 2 1/2 Cups Flour
  • 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 3/4 teaspoon Salt
  • 8 Tablespoons Shortening (I used original sticks)
  • 1 Cup Sugar
  • 2 Large Eggs
  • 1 Cup Orange Juice
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 2 Tablespoons Grated Orange Zest
  • 1 Cup Finely Chopped Pecans Optional

Glaze

  • 1 1/2 Cups Powdered Sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons Orange Juice or Heavy Cream or Milk I used Orange Juice for a little punch of extra flavor, use more if necessary

Garnish

  • 1 Cup Coarsely Chopped Pecans Optional

Instructions
 

Make the Orange Muffins

  • Heat oven 375*.
  • Grease a standard muffin tin and set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, whisk together Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, and Salt.
  • For faster mixing, cream Shortening and Sugar for a minute using a handheld electric mixer or by hand.
  • Beat in Eggs and Vanilla Extract.
  • Add dry ingredients alternately with the Orange Juice. Mix, DON'T beat, the ingredients. When a few streaks of flour are showing, add in the Orange Zest and the Pecans, if using.
  • Fill the muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until light golden brown, a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs, and the muffins centers lightly spring back when touched. They should look like something you want to eat.
  • Cool the muffins before glazing. The recipe states you should wait 20 minutes. I'm not sure if I was close to that or not. If your muffins are too warm when you glaze them, the glaze will melt and drip right off of them. You don't want that. Check them after 10 minutes and see if they still feel atomic.

Make the Glaze

  • Combine Powdered Sugar and Orange Juice (or the liquid of your choice). Using a spoon is fast enough.

Add Garnish

  • Drizzle the glaze over the cooled muffins and top with a sprinkle of Pecans, per the original recipe, or use a little coarse sugar for some bling (per my own Big Idea). Really, though, it isn't necessary to use a garnish, or even the glaze, though it does add a little something-something.