Description
Normally, you desperately want to avoid an orange’s bitter white pitch. But in this recipe, you grind up the entire orange — pith and all. Despite this unusual step, the resulting muffin is anything but bitter. The only trick is to ensure your butter and egg are at room temperature in order to get the smooth purée that makes this recipe so special. Oh, yes. And don’t overmix.
Scale
Ingredients
- 1 medium-large orange, washed
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- 1/2 cup butter, room temperature, cut in cubes
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- Turbinado sugar, for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
- Chop the orange into chunks. Discard the stem and any seeds.
- Place the orange juice, orange pieces, egg, butter, and vanilla in the Vitamix container.
- Secure the lid, set to Smoothie and run the program. The resulting orange mixture should be very smooth. If your butter is too cold you might have to run the program a second time.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, sugar, baking power, baking soda, and salt until well combined. Add the cranberries and walnuts. Toss to distribute evenly.
- Pour the orange purée over the flour mixture, and fold until blended, being careful not to overmix.
- Spoon the batter evenly into the muffin cups. Sprinkle lightly with turbinado sugar, if using. Bake 15 to 20 minutes.
- Let cool before serving. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.