Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Orange chocolate chip muffins

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I'm always looking for new muffin recipes. I keep muffins in zip-top bags in the freezer and often stick them into the kids' lunchboxes (or mine). By midday they're defrosted and ready to go.

Please don't tell me that muffins are actually cake. If I thought I was giving my kids cake for lunch every day I'd feel guilty. Not cake. Muffins. Totally different. Because...because...just because.


A recipe for orange chocolate chip muffins on the King Arthur Flour blog caught my eye. My husband isn't a fan of citrus baked goods but talks occasionally about the orange chocolate chip milkshakes he used to get when he was a student at Cal (University of California, Berkeley), so I thought he might make an exception. I believe his exact words were "They're fine." Oh well. I liked them quite a lot.

I was lucky enough to get an inside look at the King Arthur Flour factory and bakery this summer during my annual pilgrimage to Vermont. Here's what I remember most: the smell (bread), the test kitchens (busy and full of brownies), the factory (humming), and the bakery floor (covered in flour). Here, take a look:

Baskets for rising loaves of bread in the King Arthur Flour bakery
Taste-testing in the staff kitchen
Random marzipan figures sitting on a counter in the test kitchen
A large and well-stocked pantry
Now that's an inspiring pantry. I wish mine were so well organized. Maybe if my pantry were the size of a small bedroom I'd be able to manage it. But even in its state of complete chaos, my pantry turned out some decent orange chocolate chip muffins. And yours will too.



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Orange chocolate chip muffins
Not too sweet, perfumed with orange zest and studded with dark chocolate, these muffins make a perfect lunchbox treat. Adapted from King Arthur Flour.
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 Tbsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup grapeseed or canola oil
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • grated rind of 1 large orange
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips
  • 3 Tbsp large-crystal raw sugar
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.In a medium-sized bowl, sift together the flours, baking powder and salt.In another bowl, whisk together the egg, granulated sugar, oil, milk and orange zest. Dump in the dry ingredients and mix gently with a large spoon or spatula, just until everything is combined. Do not overmix; streaks of flour are fine. Mix in the chocolate chips.Divide the batter equally among the 12 muffins cups. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with the raw sugar. Bake about 20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean and the muffins are light golden brown. As soon as the muffins are cool enough to handle, take them out of the muffin tin and cool them on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 12 muffins

3 comments:

Monet said...

I'm also always looking for more muffin recipes. And I loved seeing the pictures from King Arthur. How much fun! With colder days and nights, I find myself wanting to be in the kitchen more and more. Thank you for giving me another recipe to try. I hope you are enjoying the bustle of the season. Much love from Austin.

Erika Kerekes said...

Monet - every time you leave a comment on one of my posts it makes me smile! I am going to come to Austin one of these days just to meet you in person!

Jane Lincoln said...

That orange flavored muffin looks yummy *u*
And whaa those brownies ;O Wish I can taste those samples too.lol xDDD

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