Exquisite Chocolate Orange Muffins

Chocolate and orange make an exquisite combination in this delicious muffin recipe. Adapted from Healthy Homestyle Cooking by Evelyn Tribol, this chocolate orange muffin recipe uses whole-wheat flour pastry and unsweetened applesauce for making nutritious and moist muffins. Well-made muffins are crumbly but not dry; they are tender and soft but don’t fall apart. Enjoy these unique muffins for breakfast, snacks, or dessert time. There are great and healthy easy desserts.

When making muffins, it is important to mix the dry and wet ingredients separately first and then later combine them together. Do not overmix the batter until smooth or the muffins will become tough; it should remain lumpy. Gently mix the wet and dry ingredients just enough to moisten the flour. Usually, about twelve strokes, and no more than 25 or 30 strokes of the spatula or wooden spoon are enough to combine everything together. There are ice cream recipes you can combine with chocolates and oranges. Not blending the wet ingredients well before adding them to the dry ingredients will result in a less tender texture and thicker cell walls. The wet ingredients should be cool or at room temperature, so as not to cook the eggs.

Use a muffin pan made of shiny metal so that the muffins brown beautifully. Fill the muffin cups only 3/4 full since they will rise above the pan’s surface when cooking. Grease the bottom of the muffin cups heavily, while grease the side only lightly. Well it's easy to make chocolate recipes too. This makes the muffins easier to remove and it also makes cleanup a breeze. Some like to use paper muffin cups, which is also convenient for storage. If the batter is not enough to fill up all the cups in your muffin pan, place t to 3 tablespoons of water in the empty cups to prevent the pan from warping. Filling an empty muffin cup with water with 2/3 of cold water will also help keep the muffins from burning. 

Difficulty Level

Easy

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour

¾ cup whole wheat pastry flour

¾ cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 teaspoons finely grated orange rind

2 egg whites

2/3 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

½ cup chocolate chips

Preparation Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with paper cups or coat with non-stick spray.

In a large mixing bowl, blend together the flours, sugar, baking powder, and orange rind.

In a smaller mixing bowl, beat the egg whites until foamy. Add the buttermilk and applesauce, stirring well.

A little at a time, add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture, stirring until just moist. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour the batter into the muffin tin, filling each cup about ¾ full. Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out free of batter. Cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then remove from the tin and finish cooling on a wire rack.