Slightly sweet with orange and spices, these Whole Wheat Orange Spice Muffins are great for breakfast, lunch, or as a snack. Slice them up and brush them with honey or butter and you’re in muffin heaven.
Little in life is better than a muffin. It’s basically a cake to eat for breakfast, and that can’t be bad.
In this case, I combine whole wheat flour with all-purpose flour for a slightly fluffy texture with a nutty flavor. I also tossed in chopped walnuts, a little orange zest, and all those great warming spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove.
Why use whole wheat flour
The folks at Bob’s Red Mill offer a pretty good explanation of flour.
Basically, whole wheat flour is ground from soft white wheat and has less protein than its whole wheat counterpart, which is ground from hard red wheat. The lower protein content in whole wheat pastry flour creates a light, nutrient dense crumb, which is why I use it in my whole wheat baking. (See above my preference for cakes for breakfast).
Trade in your favorite flour!
If you want a 100 percent whole grain muffin then you will definitely go crazy for the whole grains.
The texture will be chewy and the color of the muffin will be slightly darker, but the flavor will still be rich with nuttiness, warming spices, and a little sparkle from the orange zest. I’ve made muffins both ways and I like them both ways.
Muffin tops are the best part
I believe every muffin should be topped with something. For this recipe, I added a mixture of walnuts, cinnamon, and sugar to add a little extra sweetness and a slight crunch.
More Favorite Muffin Recipes!
- Lemon poppy seed muffins
- Banana Nut Muffins
- Morning glory muffins
- Oatmeal muffins with raisins, dates and walnuts
- Pumpkin Ginger Nut Muffins
Wholemeal muffins with orange flavor
ingredients
- For the muffin topping:
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1/4 cup chopped walnuts
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1/4 cup granulated sugar
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1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- For the muffins:
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1 1/2 cup (195 g) whole wheat pastry flour
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1 cup (130 g) all-purpose flour
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1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
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1/2 teaspoon baking soda
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3/4 cup (164 g) granulated sugar
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1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
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2 teaspoons of cinnamon
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3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
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3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
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1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
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2 teaspoons orange zest (from about 1 large orange)
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2 large eggs, beaten
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1 1/4 cups buttermilk
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1/4 cup applesauce
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5 tbsp butter, melted
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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3/4 cup chopped walnuts
method
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Prepare pans and oven:
Line a muffin tin with muffin cases. Preheat oven to 400°F.
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Make the muffin topping:
In a small bowl, combine 1/4 walnuts, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Put aside.
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Mix flour and spices:
In a large bowl, whisk together the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, granulated sugar, salt, cinnamon, cloves, ground ginger, nutmeg, and orange zest.
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Make the dough:
In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, applesauce, melted butter, and vanilla extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir. The dough should mostly be combined with a few strips of flour.
Add 3/4 cup walnuts and stir until incorporated. Don’t over mix the batter; it makes dense muffins.
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Fill the muffin cases:
Fill the muffin cases to the brim with batter – don’t worry, it’s just as full as you’d like. Sprinkle with walnut cinnamon sugar topping.
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Bake muffins:
Bake 18 minutes or until muffins have formed over the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. They may feature a combination of loose sugar and melted sugar.
The muffins should come apart easily, but are allowed to touch in a few places on the sides. Do not worry about it. Just cut them apart with a knife before lifting them out of the pan. If the muffins are difficult to remove from the tin, insert a knife horizontally between the top of the muffin and the top of the muffin tin, being careful not to cut through the body of the muffin.
Serve warm with a knob of butter and a dash of honey. Or just eat them. In any case.
Store in an airtight container on the countertop for up to five days, or freeze in a zip-lock plastic bag. They will keep in the freezer for up to three months.
