Orange Almond Muffins

Orange almond muffins are fluffy, soft, and infused with so much orange flavor. These orange cardamom muffins are made with olive oil and a little almond flour which keeps them so moist and fragrant. They come together so quickly, no mixer required and make for the perfect treat!

Jump to:

• Why make these almond orange muffins?
• Ingredients you need for orange muffins:
• How to make orange almond muffins:
• How to make fluffy muffins:
• What can I serve these muffins with?
• Storing leftover muffins:
• Expert tips and tricks:
• Recipe FAQS:
• Related quick bread recipes:
• Orange Almond Muffins

Why make these almond orange muffins?

The flavor of these orange almond muffins is delicious! Orange zest and juice infuse a lot of citrusy flavor, the almond flour and olive oil makes these so moist.

Adding a hint of cardamom to make orange cardamom muffins gives a wonderful hint of warm spices, perfect for summer or autumn.

The method for mixing is super simple. Dry ingredients in a bowl, wet ingredients in another, and combine. You don’t need a stand mixer, nor do you have to cream butter and sugar together.

Ingredients you need for orange muffins:

Granulated sugar: Regular white sugar gets a big flavor boost by being infused by with orange zest.

Orange zest: You need the zest of about two oranges to really pack the orange into these muffins

Flour: The bulk of this recipe contains regular flour. I haven’t tried this with gluten free flour but I think it would turn out well!

Almond flour: You can use almond flour or almond meal (which is more coarse). There’s just a 1/4 cup in the recipe so either work well. Adds a lot of moisture to the muffins!

Baking powder and baking soda: Combining both gives great lift!

Salt

Vanilla

Cardamom powder: Orange and cardamom muffins are LOVELY. The flavor that cardamom adds to the muffins is spot on, you’ll love this combination!

Buttermilk: If you are in the Middle East, you can use laban. Otherwise buttermilk, or regular whole milk work great. To make your own buttermilk, just add 1/2 tablespoon white vinegar to a measuring cup, and top off the remainder of the cup with whole milk. Let it stand for 5 minutes, and it’s ready to use!

Olive oil: Orange olive oil muffins for the win! The olive oil keeps the muffins moist for days, and even add a nice subtle hint of flavor.

Orange juice: Highly recommend you use fresh squeezed orange juice. You can’t beat the flavor!

Extra sugar and some flaked almonds for topping: the perfect finishing on these muffins, these two combined will give beautiful crunch and flavor!

How to make orange almond muffins:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F (190C) and either line 12 muffin pans with paper liners or lightly grease the muffin cavities.
2. Add the sugar to a large bowl. Add the orange zest, and use your fingertips to work the orange zest into the sugar until moistened and fragrant and a pale orange color.
3. To the sugar, add the flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom powder and salt.
4. In another medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the buttermilk, olive oil, orange juice and vanilla until combined.
5. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour in the wet ingredients. Use a rubber spatula and fold gently until just combined.
6. Divide the batter evenly into the muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 of the way. Sprinkle each cup with granulated sugar and flaked almonds.
7. Bake for 17-20 minutes until light golden brown on top, and toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

How to make fluffy muffins:

• Using oil instead of butter is a great way to keep muffins soft, fluffy and tender. Luckily, the olive oil in this recipe helps make these a slightly healthier version of orange muffins.
• Be careful when zesting the oranges. Use a microplane zester, and don’t go through to the white pith of the orange, because that’ll be bitter.
• Use the correct amount of flour. It’s best to weigh the flour out using a kitchen scale to get a precise amount. Otherwise, spoon the flour into measuring cups, this’ll lead to more accuracy than scooping flour out using the measuring cups themselves which can lead to too much flour, which will lead to too tough muffins.
• Not over-mixing! Over mixing develops the gluten in the flour, which leads to a tougher crumb- great for something like bread, not something we want in muffins. Mix with a spatula gently once all the ingredients are in a bowl and stop mixing as soon as you no longer see flour streaks.
• Make sure the buttermilk and eggs are at room temperature, this’ll help them combine easier and also improve the texture.

What can I serve these muffins with?

I like them plain! You can break these in half and serve these warm with butter on top. You can also dust with icing sugar, or make a simple icing sugar/milk glaze to drizzle on top.

Storing leftover muffins:

Muffins will last for up to 4 days at room temperature in a tightly covered container. Anything beyond that, and you’ll be better off freezing them.

To freeze, I like to wrap the muffins in plastic wrap and freeze individually. They make for great easy grab and go snacks or breakfast items. They’ll thaw quickly at room temperature. Once at room temperature, 10-15 seconds in the microwave will warm them up if you like.

If you are in a bigger rush, give them a 30-45 second zap in the microwave to defrost and warm them up.

Expert tips and tricks:

• Fill the muffin cups up well! 3/4 of the way full to get a nice domed top.
• Use fresh orange juice! So much tastier than the bottled/carton stuff.
• Don’t over bake, just wait until tops spring up and golden brown, and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. You want to keep them moist on the inside and not dry.

Recipe FAQS:

Related quick bread recipes:

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