orange and clementine muffins with greek yogurt

It's still bone-chilling cold here, and no matter how I try to get excited about salads, the bottom line is that they are not warming.  I crave muffins and French toast, macaroni and cheese, juicy hamburgers with hot sauce and salsa.  So much for my New Year's resolution to get back on a healthy (or, as my mother always said to me:  "It's HEALTHFUL, not healthy")  track.

Well, these muffins have two citruses , greek yogurt, some whole wheat flour, canola oil, and fresh nutmeg, which are all good, right?  Biting into a fresh hot muffin, there was a blossoming of oranges and clementine, which suddenly reminded me of Florida vacations and the scent of everyone's backyard orange and grapefruit trees.

The recipe comes from a little book I bought years and years ago, called "Muffins A to Z" by Marie Simmons.  I've tried a few recipes, and, though I often change the recipe as I go along, it's a dandy little book.  


Orange and Clementine muffins


Preheat oven to 350F.
Grease your muffin tins well - this recipe made one large Texas muffin in one tin, and 7 small, normal size ones in another muffin tin.

1/2 cup whole wheat flour, sifted
1 and 1/2 cups King Arthur all purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
a hefty pinch of kosher salt
1 tablespoon grated orange zest

1 cup plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed citrus juice from clementines and eating oranges

Optional:  rolled oats for sprinkling on tops



Place all the dry ingredients in your mixer bowl:  the whole wheat flour, the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and orange zest.  Briefly whisk.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the canola oil, Greek yogurt, citrus juice and eggs.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and briefly mix until incorporated.  My batter seemed thick, which I think was because my kitchen is cold in the morning - if that happens, add a little more juice or a little water, a tablespoon at most.

Using an ice cream scoop, scoop batter into muffin tins.  I like to sprinkle a few rolled oats on top for contrast.


 Bake 25 minutes, a few minutes more for the Texas size muffins, then remove from oven to cool on a rack.  When muffins are cool, remove gently from tins and serve with sweet butter and freshly squeezed orange and clementine juice.

Warm hugs to you all, and to the beautiful city of Paris .....