Orange cinnamon muffins
In the spirit of hope and renewal and not relying on anyone to define my happiness, I indulged in a little baking this afternoon. I have just arrived back from a family trip on the south coast and I feel refreshed rejuvenated and feel so much more positive about life. My husband made a nice of salad, scrambled eggs and padron peppers, so I was also feeling content and full.
There was a container full of yoghurt in the fridge that needed using up so I decided that I would find a muffin recipe. Eventually I found one – tweaked it according to my kitchen cupboard contents. I was interested in using yoghurt, honey and olive oil instead of the usual milk, sugar and butter ingredients. The texture and taste of the final product is different to anything I have tasted before. Spongy but not light spongy like a sponge cake. More dense. It is nice but different. Also not as sweet as I thought it might be but I am guessing that is not a bad thing. The original recipe calls for whole wheat flour which I am assuming would had added that ‘something else’ to the taste. However currently my cupboard is full of white flour which I am in the slow process of using up before I purchase anymore.
Anyway – the verdict is: I enjoyed these. They will make a nice accompaniment to breakfast tomorrow and they will keep for lunch in the first part of the week.
Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/4 cup full-fat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup honey
1 egg
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees and line a muffin pan with muffin liners.
- Whisk the flour, , salt, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a large bowl.
- In a smaller bowl, combine the Greek yogurt, maple syrup, egg, olive oil and vanilla extract.
- Slowly pour the wet ingredients in to the dry ingredients and use a spoon to gently fold the ingredients together. Do not over-mix. The batter will be very thick (almost like a fluffier cookie dough).
- Spoon batter into muffin cups and make for approximately 20 minutes, until the tops of the muffins are set. Watch the muffins closely, so as not to overbake.
- Allow to cool and enjoy. Store any leftover muffins in an air-tight container for four to five days.
