The Baker's Dozen: Orange Raisin Muffins

 

The Baker's Dozen: Orange Raisin Muffins

I seem to have chosen good recipes so far, because this was another winner! The recipe had one issue, but I was able to fix it before it caused a disaster. I'll explain when I get there...Meanwhile, here is the recipe:

Orange Raisin Muffins (source unknown)

2 cups sifted flour

3/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/3 cup sugar

1/2 cup raisins

1 egg, well beaten

1/3 cup orange juice

1/2 tsp. orange zest

2/3 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup shortening, or butter, melted

Sift the flour with the baking soda, salt, and sugar. Add raisins. Combine egg, juice, zest, buttermilk, and shortening. Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix just until dry ingredients are dampened. Fill a muffin tin lined with liners, 2/3 full. Bake at 425 degrees for 25 minutes.

Makes 1 dozen

I didn't have shortening, so I used butter instead. This where my previous muffin-baking experience came in handy, because the recipe originally says just shortening. But if you are supposed to mix the wet ingredients together and then pour it into the dry and quickly mix it all, then you can't have solid butter to mix in with it. It has to be melted. So, I did this, and I know it turned correctly, so definitely melt the fat, whether you use shortening or butter.

I also didn't have buttermilk, so I made my own out of white vinegar and regular milk. This is pretty common for me, as I don't really have a need for buttermilk outside of small amounts like this, on occasion. It's more cost effective to just make it this way on the times when I need it, than to buy cartons of buttermilk.

The instructions say sifted flour, and then you sift it with the other ingredients. I decided to do this exactly as it said, which means ultimately double sifting the flour, and I think it turned out perfectly this way. So, definitely sift the flour before measuring the two cups, and then sift it again with all the other dry ingredients. I also recommend using fresh orange juice for this, since you have to use fresh zest anyway. I bought a giant orange and drank the rest of the juice for treat once I'd measured out what I needed. I also used the entire orange's worth of zest, even though it was more than 1/2 tsp. Why waste it, right?

Here is the mixed version. It's very light in color, and the orange smell is so vibrant!

Here they are in the muffin tin. Ready for baking!

And here is the final product! I think they got over-baked, when you see how dark they are. The flavor is amazing though. I would probably do 20 minutes in the oven and then test it for doneness. If I make these again, that's how I'll do it.

This is a still-warm muffin, before the butter went on it. I really love how these turned out. They're not overly sweet, and the raisin and orange flavors both come forward really well. The texture is still good as I ate one for dessert tonight and it was still soft. It's a little harder on the outside, but again, that's cuz it baked too long. Tomorrow I'll reheat them by wrapping them in wet paper towels and microwaving them for a few seconds to steam them. If you ever want to reheat bread products in the microwave, always, always wrap them in wet paper towels first. It's the only way to do it.

Muffins are fun to make because the variety is endless, and they're super fast to make. If yeast breads intimidate you and you don't want an entire quick bread lying around, then muffins are perfect for you! And I know some people really hate raisins baked into things, so this might not be for you. I think if you left them out of this, there wouldn't be much to these muffins. They'd be pretty one note. But, if you do like raisins, definitely try this one out. You won't regret it!