Glazed Orange Poppyseed Muffins #MuffinMonday

These bright sweet muffins have a snappy crunch when you bite into them. The orange juice and zest pairs nicely with poppy seeds and makes a sweet addition to a morning tea break, knitting club, or after school snack.

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Poppy seeds are not something I typically keep in my kitchen. I got out of the habit of eating them when I was in the military and subject to random drug testing. No desire for false positives--no muffin is worth that. How did I get from muffins to drug testing in a single paragraph? Back to poppy seeds, because it is #MuffinMonday and I've got poppy seeds on my brain.

Here's the thing (also the title of my current favorite podcast to listen to while working out in the basement)--I know oranges + poppy seeds rock the Salmon in the Company of Good Oranges. It stood to reason (in my mind) that, having a crisper drawer full of juice oranges and a container of poppy seeds left from an annual bowlful of pasta, I could swap the citrus in a poppy seed muffin.

I looked around online for Lemon Poppyseed Muffins Using Buttermilk. (I'm working on a soaked oat and buttermilk bread recipe and had plenty on hand. When it's 25 cents for a half gallon you tend not to hoard.) I didn't see anything that appealed, so I consulted my trusty red checkered Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. I found a poppy seed muffin recipe that I used as a guideline for these tasty gems.

For more recipes using oranges, from a Marching Band Fruit Fundraiser or just because they are in season and on sale, please see my Orange Recipes Collection. It's part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me who have an alarming tendency to go big when it comes to seasonal produce. I'm sharing seasonal recipes on my FB page, pinning them to my Pinterest boards, and even giving you a taste of what's coming up on my Instagram feed. Want to know How to Use This Blog?

Warning: making these muffins mini size is dangerous. You find yourself indiscriminately popping them into your mouth because they are so little and cute.

Another Warning: more cute muffins ahead.

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins to brighten their Mondays. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. 

• Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Chocolate Chip Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Cinnamon Pear Muffins from Making Miracles
• Coconut Lime Mango Muffins from The Spiced Life
• Glazed Orange Poppyseed Muffins from Farm Fresh Feasts
• Gouda Herb Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Nutmeg Banana Muffins from Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Orange Muffins from Passion Kneaded

Glazed Orange Poppyseed Muffins (makes 2 dozen mini muffins)

Ingredients

• 1 orange
• up to ¾ cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ¼ teaspoon salt (I use kosher)
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ⅓ cup sugar
• 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
• ¾ cup whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 Tablespoon poppy seeds
• 4 Tablespoons powdered sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a mini muffin pan with paper liners (much easier clean up, these don't have that much fat).
2. Zest an orange into a large bowl. Juice the orange, and set aside 2 Tablespoons of juice in a separate small bowl for the glaze.
3. Transfer the remaining orange juice into a 1 cup measure. (I'm using juice oranges which have about 2 ounces of juice/orange, so I set aside 1 ounce for the glaze and have 1 ounce remaining.)
4. Add buttermilk to the juice until the cup is ¾ full (for a total of 6 ounces, so in my case I added 5 ounces of buttermilk to the 1 ounce of orange juice).
5. Transfer liquid to the bowl with the orange zest. Add an egg, the vegetable oil, and vanilla to the bowl. Whisk thoroughly.
6. Dump salt, baking soda, sugar, flours, baking powder and poppy seeds on top of the egg/buttermilk mixture. Stir until just combined.
7. Scoop (Amazon affiliate link) into prepared pan. Bake mini muffins for 12 minutes until tops are golden brown.
8. While muffins are baking, stir reserved orange juice and powdered sugar together until sugar is dissolved.
9. Let baked muffins rest in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack and brush with glaze. Serve warm or at room temperature.

This recipe was adapted from the Poppyseed Muffin recipe in the Better Homes and Gardens: New Cook Book (Amazon affiliate link). I changed the milk to buttermilk, swapped half the all purpose flour with whole wheat flour, decreased the sugar, and added an orange, vanilla extract, and baking soda to the original recipe.