These Orange Muffins are ultra tender and bursting with citrus flavor. They’re topped with a crunchy crumb and drizzled with a sweet orange glaze.
Why you’ll love these
- Tender. These muffins simply melt in your mouth. A moist and tender cake-like muffin is topped with a crumby topping and drizzled in a sweet glaze.
- Citrusy. Thanks to freshly squeezed juice and zest, these muffins are packed with a bright orange flavor that’s perfect for spring and summer!
Ingredients
- Sugar – granulated sugar is used to create a sweet and moist muffin. There isn’t a substitute, but if you’re looking for a less sweet muffin, you can likely reduce the amount by 1/3 cup without affecting the texture too much.
- Eggs – come in different sizes, so be sure to use 2 large eggs. Bring them to room temperature before mixing to create a smooth batter. Submerge cold eggs in warm water for about 10-15 minutes if you need to bring them to room temperature quickly.
- Oil and Butter – oil adds more moisture than butter, but doesn’t do much for the flavor, so I like using 1/2 oil and 1/2 butter for the best of both worlds. You’ll need a neutral oil such as canola or avocado oil. Feel free to use salted or unsalted butter. If using salted, simply reduce the additional salt in half.
- Sour Cream – feel free to replace with full fat plain yogurt. If you can find an orange or lemon yogurt, that might be nice as well to add even more citrus flavor!
- Orange: Juice and Zest – look for large oranges so you have enough for 2/3 cup juice. I typically use navel oranges, but any variety, in theory should work. Lemon should also work!
- Vanilla and Almond Extract – both complement the orange flavor nicely, but almond extract may be omitted, if necessary, for a tree nut allergy.
- Flour – all-purpose flour will produce the best results, but whole wheat pastry flour should work as well.
- Baking Powder – not baking soda. Be sure you’re using fresh baking powder for the best lift.
- Salt – I use table salt, because that’s what I always have on hand, but kosher salt may also be used.
- Crumb Topping: Butter, Brown Sugar, Granulated Sugar, and Salt – for a more simple muffin, feel free to omit the crumb topping, although, I love the additional sweetness and texture it gives the muffins.
- Glaze: Powdered Sugar, Orange: Juice and Zest, Heavy Cream, Butter – feel free to omit for a less sweet muffin, but you’ll also lose out on that really strong, fresh orange flavor.
Pro tip
Want to make these poppy seed muffins instead? Stir 2 tablespoons poppyseeds into the batter and omit the crumb topping.
How to make
- Muffins: Whisk together sugar, eggs, oil, butter, sour cream, orange juice, vanilla extract, almond extract, and orange zest in a large bowl, then stir in flour, baking powder, and salt. Fill greased muffin tin with batter then set aside.
- Crumb: Stir together butter, sugars, salt, and flour using a fork to create clumps, sprinkle evenly over the batter, then bake in preheated oven.
- Glaze: Whisk together butter, zest, powdered sugar, juice, and heavy cream until smooth then spoon over slightly warm muffins.
Tips
- Don’t over-mix. Over-mixing batter creates can create a tough muffin.
- Bake at a higher, then lower temp. Baking at a higher temperature creates a fast lift, which will leave you with beautiful dome-y muffin tops, lowering the temperature then allows the muffin to bake through thoroughly.
- Play around with flavors. Try using another citrus instead: lime, lemon, blood orange, etc.
How to store
Muffins can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days or in the freezer (without the glaze) for up to 3 months.
To enjoy again, thaw overnight in the fridge, if frozen, then enjoy at room temperature or warmed in the microwave!
– Jennifer
Orange Muffins
These Orange Muffins are ultra tender and bursting with citrus flavor. They're topped with a crunchy crumb and drizzled with a sweet orange glaze.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Yield: 14 muffins
Equipment for this recipe
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Ingredients
Muffins
- 1 ⅓ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup oil I like avocado oil
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted
- 8 oz sour cream room temperature
- Zest from 4 large oranges
- ⅔ cup freshly squeezed orange juice about 4 large oranges
- 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon almond extract
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Crumb
- ⅓ cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup unsalted butter melted
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
Orange Glaze
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- Zest of 1/2 orange
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice plus more to thin, if desired
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream plus more to thin, if desired
Instructions
Orange Muffins
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and grease 2 (12 slot) non-stick muffin tins (you’ll only need to use 14 slots) with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Place granulated sugar, eggs, oil, melted butter, sour cream, orange zest, orange juice, vanilla, and almond extract into a large bowl, then whisk until smooth.
- Add in flour, baking powder, and salt and whisk until *just* combined.
- Fill each of the 14 slots with about 1/3 cup muffin batter then set aside.
Crumb
- Place the brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, and melted butter in a medium bowl then stir to combine.
- Add in the flour, then gently mix using a fork to create large crumbles.
- Spoon evenly onto each muffin, gently pressing it down so it sticks, then bake in the preheated oven for 5 minutes.
- After the 5 minutes, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees F and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.
Orange Glaze
- Use a hand mixer to beat together unsalted butter and zest until creamy, then beat in powdered sugar, orange juice, and heavy cream until smooth. Add in additional juice/heavy cream if the glaze is too thick.
- Spoon over lightly warm muffins and enjoy!
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STORING
Room Temp:3 Days
Refrigerator:N/A
Freezer:3 Months (without glaze)
Reheat:Thaw, if frozen, then microwave to warm
*Storage times may vary based on temperature and conditions
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Nutrition Information
Nutrition Facts
Orange Muffins
Amount Per Serving (1 muffin)
Calories 496 Calories from Fat 225
% Daily Value*
Fat 25g38%
Saturated Fat 11g69%
Trans Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 3g
Monounsaturated Fat 9g
Cholesterol 71mg24%
Sodium 229mg10%
Potassium 170mg5%
Carbohydrates 63g21%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 40g44%
Protein 5g10%
Vitamin A 588IU12%
Vitamin C 10mg12%
Calcium 64mg6%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
*Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on products used.
Keywords: brunch recipe, citrus muffins, crumb muffins, easy muffin recipe, orange crumb muffins, orange glaze, orange muffins