Citrus season is still bringing delicious varieties to my grocery store and love cooking with the seasonal fruits. The blood orange is one of my very favorite types of citrus. I love the color, the flavor and am always drawn to a recipe when I see it in the title. Recently, I shared the recipe for Meyer Lemon Mini Muffins and knew I needed to adapt the recipe to use the blood orange. I followed the original recipe, but added poppy seeds (why should lemons have all the fun!?) and vanilla. The only flaw to my plan was the color of the glaze. It looks very pretty at first, but darkens the muffins a bit. The flavor is amazing and I actually liked them better than the lemon muffins! I thought the flavor or the orange was strong and absolutely delicious. Kellen loved these and loved that they were the perfect size for him! I normally make regular sized muffins and borrowed they mini pans from my co-worker, but I am quickly realizing that I need to purchase some for myself!
Tonight we are home relaxing and tried a new recipe for Spaghetti Pie for dinner. It was loved by my little guy and husband so it will certainly be back on the table, and I will post it soon to share with all of you! Ron and I have really been hooked on West Wing and will probably watch an episode as soon as Kellen gets down for bed. We are also getting a little snow tonight and Ron's eyes lit up when I told him because it means he gets to use his new snow blower! We bought a new one after getting 13 inches after Christmas and we haven't had snow since....go figure. Ron has been chomping at the bit to use it again and will probably be up early clearing the snow.
Have a great night everyone!
Instructions
1 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1 large egg
Add 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tsp poppy seed
1 blood orange zest
1/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup blood orange juice (1 medium blood orange)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spray a mini muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and white sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix until well combined, about a minute. Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt till just mixed. Next, gently stir in the sour cream to the batter along with the orange zest and poppy seeds. Do not over mix.
Spoon the muffin batter into the tin, filling the cups about 2/3 full. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes, until the muffins are light golden brown.
Meanwhile, mix together the brown sugar and the orange juice, until the brown sugar is dissolved.
Remove the muffins from the oven, and brush the glaze over the warm muffins. Remove the muffins from the pan while they are still slightly warm, and enjoy!
Makes about 24 mini muffins.