Orange Date Muffins (Or Chocolate Chip)

LUv 2 BaKE's Note:

These low-fat soft orange muffins are bursting with sweet orange flavour. By far the best orange muffin I have made. The original recipe is for orange date muffins but I often replace the dates with chocolate chips. Dates have been a staple food of the Middle East for thousands of years

• Total Time: 30 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 12

• 1 whole orange (rind and fruit)
• ½ cup orange juice
• ½ cup dried dates, chopped or ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 egg
• 1⁄8; cup margarine , plus
• 1 tablespoon margarine
• ¾ cup whole wheat flour
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ cup sugar

Directions:

1. Cut orange into 8 or more pieces, remove seeds.
2. Place cut orange into a blender or food processor.
3. Blend into rind is finely ground; add orange juice to this mixture to make it easier to grind.
4. Add dates (or chocolate chips), egg, and margarine; blend until mixed (if using chocolate chips you may want to add them in step 6 instead of in this step).
5. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar.
6. Add orange mixture to dry ingredients; stir gently until just mixed.
7. Spray 12 medium-large muffin cups with cooking spray.
8. Fill tins 2/3 full.
9. Bake at 400F for 15 minutes.

Reviews

[snordyke]

These were excellent. They remind me a lot of these great muffins I would get at the farmer's market in Bloomington, IN. I have really missed them, but these are a close approximation. I did use butter instead of margarine and I added 1/2 tsp of cloves, 1 tsp of fresh chopped ginger, and 1/4 cup ground flax. They turned out beautfully. Thanks for the recipe.

[oilpatchjo]

Luv 2 BaKE, This muffin recipe is absolutely delicious made according to recipe except I used butter they freeze extremely well and are just as amazing heated up with jam! Of course I'm a date lover!

[Paja]

These were great and very easy. I actually added rhubarb instead of dates and I added it when I mixed the dry and wet ingredients. Adding the margarine and egg to the blended mixture made it so simple. These had a great flavour and texture and weren't too sweet.I made a double batch and they are disappearing like crazy.