Orange Almond Muffins

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Moist and tender muffins flavored with almond, fresh orange, creamy butter, and greek yogurt. Topped with a sweet orange glaze and toasted almonds, these muffins are a lovely way to get your day started. Bonus-these can be made entirely gluten free for a sweet breakfast treat everyone can enjoy!

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What you’ll need for the muffins:

Almond flour-blanched almond flour helps to add flavor, texture, and structure to these muffins!

Flour– You can use gluten free flour (I use the Bobs Red Mill 1 to 1 Baking Flour) or all purpose flour 1:1 for these muffins. Whatever flour you select will help to reinforce the structure of the muffins and keep them from becoming too crumbly.

Sugar- for sweetness and to bring out the floral orange flavor.

Eggs– For binding everything together.

Fresh orange juice, orange zest, and vanilla extract- For intense flavor and moisture. You’ll need about 2-3 navel oranges for this recipe.

Plain Greek yogurt- for extra moisture and binding.

Unsalted butter-For flavor, browning, and to make these muffins tender and moist.

Baking soda, baking powder, and salt– for leavening, color, and flavor balance.

Toasted sliced almonds and powdered sugar- For the most amazing topping! The powdered sugar is combined with more fresh orange juice and zest to give each muffin a final burst of orange flavor, while the toasted almonds add an extra level of nuttiness and crunch.

How to make Orange Almond Muffins:

Makes 12 muffins. **You’ll need about 3 regular navel oranges or 2 jumbo navel oranges for this recipe**.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups gluten free baking flour or all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup almond flour (I use blanched)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
• 5 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
• 3/4 cup of plain, 2% Greek yogurt
• 1 cup of granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon of orange zest
• 1/4 cup of fresh orange juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Topping:

• 1 cup of powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon of fresh orange zest
• 2-3 tablespoons of fresh orange juice
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup of sliced almonds, toasted

Make the muffins:

Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners and preheat your oven to 400°.

In a medium sized bowl, combine the almond flour, gluten free or all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Give the ingredients a stir with a whisk to combine. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the yogurt, sugar, egg, orange juice, orange zest, vanilla, and whisk to combine. Next, slowly whisk the melted butter into the wet ingredients, until fully incorporated. 

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and stir until everything is well mixed and no streaks of flour remain. If using all purpose flour, mix until the batter is just combined. Do not overmix.

Divide the batter into the 12 lined muffin cups. 

Bake at 400° for 17-19 minutes until the muffins are puffed, browned, and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan while you prepare the orange almond topping.

Make the Orange Glaze and Almond Topping:

Toast the almond slices by pouring them into a dry saute pan. Heat the nuts over medium heat, stirring constantly with a rubber spatula to prevent burning. Continue tossing and stirring the almonds until they’ve browned lightly and smell toasty, about 4-7 minutes (timing depends on the type of cooktop you have). Remove the almonds from the heat and set them aside.

In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon of orange zest, and 2 tablespoons of orange juice. Give the mixture a stir and add more orange juice if needed. The glaze should be slightly thick but will still easily run off a spoon.

Once the muffins are cooled, you can leave them in the muffin pan or transfer them to a cooling rack over a sheet of parchment paper. Drizzle the top of each muffin with the glaze–we’re looking for a few stripes of drizzle, not coating the entire top. While the glaze is still wet, sprinkle on the toasted almonds. Serve and enjoy!

Storing Your Muffins

Any leftover muffins should be stored at room temperature in an air tight container. These muffins are best the day they’re made but will keep well for up to 5 days.

Freezing Instructions

These orange almond muffins freeze really well if you need a long term storage solution.

To freeze, just pop the fully baked muffins into a freezer safe and air tight container pop in the freezer. These will keep for a few weeks, just watch for freezer burn. You can freeze these muffins with or without the glaze.

When you’re ready to eat, take out the number of muffins needed and just thaw at room temperature and enjoy!

Variations:

This recipe is a really great base for muffins, meaning you can totally play around or completely swap out the orange and the almond if needed!

Here are some variations that I think you’ll really love:

• Swap the orange flavoring for lemon. Lemon and almond are best friends!
• Omit the orange glaze and drizzle with some melted chocolate instead–because you deserve it.
• Top these muffins with a crumble topping! This is my favorite crumble topping, I use it on pies and muffins. Swap the all purpose flour for gluten free flour if you need to!
• Simplify your life and sprinkle the top with some coarse sugar and call it a day.
• Add 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract to the muffin batter or to the orange glaze for extra almond goodness.
• If you want extra glaze (absolutely yes), you can double it or increase it by 1/2.
• Not into the glaze but still want the crunchy almonds? Sprinkle the almonds on top of the muffins before baking. You won’t have to toast them at this point, and you can omit the glaze or add it later if you want.

Tips:

I’m obsessed with these muffins and have made them about a zillion and 1 times. Here are a few tips I’ve learned along the way!

• Use fresh oranges. I found that if I used an orange that was a little old, I wouldn’t get an intense orange flavor, and I got a lot less zest from the skin of the orange. Therefore, use fresh when you can!
• I prefer the regular navel oranges vs jumbo navel oranges. The jumbos don’t have as much flavor in the juice, but they’re totally fine to use if that’s all you can find. You can always add a touch more orange zest to the batter or glaze if you need more orange flavor.
• Toast the sliced almonds for the topping. It really boosts the flavor and the crunch!

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