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Orange Juice Muffins

4.9

(18)

Orange Muffins with wrapper on plate
Anytime Orange Muffins Photograph by Guang Xu

This orange muffin recipe is inspired by the cranberry-orange version sold at Costco, which Chef Shaina Loew-Banayan of Hudson, New York’s Cafe Mutton—one of our 10 Best New Restaurants of 2022—loved throughout their childhood. “Don’t be tempted to sprinkle demerara or some other fancy sugar on top of the muffins,” they implore. “That’s not the vibe.” Regular ol’ granulated sugar gives the tops a crackly surface that makes them deeply satisfying. 

Using freshly squeezed orange juice is a must. And though they’ve nixed the dried cranberries so that the citrus flavor can shine even brighter, Loew-Banayan rounds out the wet ingredients with vanilla and half-and-half to give these muffins a Creamsicle mood. Unlike many restaurants’ baked goods, these are a snap to make at home. That said, be sure to use paper liners in your muffin tin as they give the batter something to cling to as they rise, and grease the top of the tin with butter so that the oversized muffin tops don’t stick.

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What you’ll need

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes 12

Ingredients

1

cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan

2⅓

cups (292 g) all-purpose flour

2

tsp. baking powder

1

tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt

1

Tbsp. finely grated orange zest

1¾

cups (350 g) sugar, plus more for sprinkling

2

large eggs

1

tsp. vanilla extract

⅓

cup fresh orange juice

1

cup half-and-half

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat oven to 375°. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Coat flat top of pan with unsalted butter to prevent sticking. Whisk 2⅓ cups (292 g) all-purpose flour, 2 tsp. baking powder, and 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a medium bowl.

    Step 2

    Using an electric mixer on medium-low speed, mix 1 Tbsp. finely grated orange zest and 1¾ cups (350 g) sugar in a large bowl until combined and very fragrant, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium-high, add 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, and beat until combined, about 2 minutes. Add 2 large eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated after each addition. Beat in 1 tsp. vanilla extract.

    Step 3

    Reduce mixer speed to medium-low and, with the motor running, add one third of ⅓ cup fresh orange juice, then dry ingredients, then 1 cup half-and-half, mixing until incorporated after each addition. Repeat process, adding half of remaining orange juice, dry ingredients, and half-and-half, then repeat one more time with remaining ingredients. Let batter sit at room temperature 10 minutes.

    Step 4

    Divide batter evenly among muffin cups (batter will come up to the very top) and sprinkle with sugar. Bake muffins until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 20–25 minutes. Let cool in pan 15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

    Do ahead: Muffins can be baked 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

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Reviews (18)

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  • These were light and delicious. I actually got 18 regular sized muffins from this recipe. I did add about 1 tsp of orange extract and cut the sugar to 1 1/3 cups. They were sweet enough with the sprinkle of sugar on top. Yummy!

    • Cyndi

    • Suburban Chicago

    • 9/17/2022

  • What is a standard size muffin pan? They come in so many different sizes. Aside from mini muffin pans, I have three different sizes. Can someone at BA say how much liquid a standard size muffin pan holds? It would be very helpful.

    • Anonymous

    • Florida

    • 9/25/2022

  • moist and delish. they taste of creamsicles. definitely overflowed my muffin pan (made 17) - maybe 12 in a texas-muffin pan.

    • Anonymous

    • saint louis, mo

    • 9/26/2022

  • Good flavor but I must not have a "standard" muffin tin. The batter certainly filled each cup to the brim. In the oven, they swelled together to form one layer. I had to cut each muffin out. The batter also went down the cups, around the outside of the paper liners. Tasty but needs refining.

    • Anonymous

    • Doylestown, PA

    • 10/3/2022

  • These muffins are like little cakes. The recipe is now in my "favorites" file. Every time I have served them (or given them to friends/neighbors) they ask for the recipe. And kids just love them. I wouldn't change one thing about the recipe--these are true winners! They are also very easy to make and usually I have all the ingredients on hand.

    • susan schmitz

    • Madison, WI

    • 10/29/2022

  • This is more a cake recipe than a muffin recipe. I use 1 /3cup sour cream. Importantly I fill my muffin cups no more than 2/3 for 18 muffins. Or bake in a 9 inch cake pan. Delicious.

    • Anonymous

    • 10/29/2022

  • These were light and delicious. They are reminiscent of a creamsicle as mentioned in the introduction. I halved the recipe and got 9 regular sized muffins. Will add to "my favorites" for baking.

    • M Parris

    • Victoria, BC

    • 11/1/2022