Orange Muffins

I've been pretty busy the past few days! One of my best friends and I had a great celebratory night out, my sister got an MRI and a brain scan, and I began an internship. Most importantly, my sister is completely healthy (turns out that sometimes a headache is just a headache). I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to intern in a political office this summer, so exciting! Definitely a good past few days.

Also good are orange muffins. Whenever we visit my grandparents down in Florida during the winter, my grandma always buys mini muffins. IGA must employ some masterful mini muffin bakers, with such muffin skills that I can only dream of (well, they may have been a little more like cupcakes...). My favorite was always orange. The day after returning from our winter break in Florida, I whipped up a batch of these orange muffins; they aren't IGA by a long shot, but they're pretty damn good. My search for the perfect orange muffin continues!

Orange Muffins

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Makes 12

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup orange juice

1/3 cup canola oil

1 tablespoon orange zest

1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds

3 tablespoons water

Directions:

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a muffin pan or line it with cupcake wrappers. 

Whisk together the flaxseed and water with a fork until it becomes slightly gelatinous. Then whisk together the orange juice, canola oil and flaxseed mixture until well blended.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, zest and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined. 

Fill the cupcake wrappers 3/4 of the way. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.