Orange Muffins

Oranges are in abundance at our house right now. We've harvested a whole bunch of oranges from our tree that I don't know what to do with. Fresh squeezed orange juice isn't always easy to make. Do you know how hard it is to squeeze oranges to make orange juice? Even with a juicer? Its a carpal-tunnel syndrome waiting to happen. So I needed to figure out what to do with some of the oranges we had. I was thinking of making my Orange Ice Cream Popsicle that my daughter loves. But its too cold to be making ice cream right now. So off I went in search of another great recipe. I really wanted to make a cake or some muffins with my fresh oranges. There were quite a few muffin recipes out there, but I'm always leery about trying new recipes that no one has made yet. I knew I wouldn't be disappointed with any of the recipes I try from Annie's Eats, so I had to make her Orange Muffin recipe.

Annie never seems to disappoint me because these were so yummy. They came out moist and light. Not like other muffins that are dense and almost dry. I especially love the sweet orange glaze on top. Hubby said they were really good and orangey and daughter couldn't wait to eat them once they came out of the oven. Though all she really ate was the glaze off of her muffin.

1 cup milk

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1/2 cup sour cream

2 large eggs

2 stick unsalted butter, melted

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

zest of 1 orange

for the orange glaze:

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1-2 tsp. orange zest

1) Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Line muffin pan with 16 liners.

2) In a medium bowl, combine milk, orange juice, sour cream, eggs and melted butter. Whisk together to blend. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Stir to blend. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Fold in orange zest with a spatula.

3) Evenly distribute batter into muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick test comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5-10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack over a baking sheet. Drizzle glaze over muffins while still warm.

4) To make the glaze, combine orange juice, powdered sugar, orange zest in a small bowl. Whisk together until smooth, adding more orange juice if necessary to achieve desired consistency. Drizzle over muffins. Allow glaze to set before serving or storing in an airtight container.