Citrus and Honey Whole Grain Muffins

Oranges and tangerines paired with honey in a whole wheat and oatmeal muffin

When you first get cases of citrus for the Band Fruit Fundraiser, your family is gobbling up oranges, grapefruit, and tangerines as fast as you can peel them.  My family is as spoiled as the composting pig.  I peel the oranges for them as well. I have that hook thingamajig from Tupperware.  It makes it easy.
But after a while, the joy of juice bursting in your mouth pales a bit.  The palate gets a bit tired of such unrelenting sweet goodness. Like living in Hawaii with unrelenting sunshine. It happened to me!
So you get creative, and start serving the citrus as the main event at breakfast.  That goes over well, so for special people you serve salmon and oranges with dinner.  You throw orange sections in spinach salads and fruit salads. [And you freeze the leftovers of those fruit salads for smoothies.]  You buy apples.  And grapes. And you kinda forget about the handful of citrus still in your crisper.

As Norah Jones just sang on my stereo, <they're> just sitting here, waiting for you to come on home <and make a muffin>.

I wanted to make another muffin without added refined sugar, this time on purpose, so I grabbed the honey out of the pantry. Honey pairs very nicely with citrus.  Add in the whole grains--oats and wheat--and you're good to go.  This muffin is a great use for leftover peeled citrus.  Chop the citrus finely, or you will have odd lumps sticking up here and there. You'll live if you do.  I did.  Kids still ate them.
I like to soak my oats in buttermilk overnight because I like the texture of the resulting whole grain muffin, but even an hour's soak makes a difference if you didn't mix these up the night before.

Citrus and Honey Whole Grain Muffins

1 cup oats (old fashioned, that's how I roll-ed.  Get it? Rolled oats?)
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup chopped citrus (I had 1/3 cup tangerine and 2/3 cup orange)
1 egg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

The night before, or at least an hour before you're ready to bake, combine the oats and buttermilk in a large bowl and set aside.  This can hang on your counter or in the fridge for 1 to 12 hours.
When you're ready to bake, gather the rest of your ingredients.  Take a photo.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Spray a 12 space muffin pan with oil spray and set aside.
Add the citrus, egg, oil, and honey to the bowl.  Stir to combine.  Dump the dry ingredients on top.  Stir until just barely mixed.  Scoop batter into prepared pan.  Bake for 15-18 minutes until tops are golden.  Cool in pan 5 minutes before turning out onto a rack to finish cooling.

Want more ideas for Band Fruit Fundraiser Citrus?  Come back on Wednesday for a recipe roundup!

This post is shared on Clever Chicks Blog Hop, Tasty Tuesdays, What's Cookin' Wednesday, From the Farm Blog Hop