Jun 28 2010
Orange Marmalade Muffins
When we were in the Bahamas last month, we got a chance to nab some free muffins on our last day at the resort, and these muffins were… how should I say it… unique. It was orange-flavored and topped with crushed pistachio nuts. I took a bite of it and my first instinct was that we need to replicate this orange muffin back home! It had beautiful traces of orange zest in the muffin with the perfect amount of sweetness and was unbelievably moist. I tried to ask one of the staffers what they put in the muffin and this guy tried to argue with me that it wasn’t orange – and not blood orange either. He summoned his female coworker who apparently eats these muffins everyday (and it shows…) and she confirmed that it is orange, but that didn’t help my quest to get the recipe. Anyway, I ate the whole muffin without a trace of guilt, and went back for a 2nd muffin, this time squirreling it away in my bag so I can take it back to the states to evaluate.
Let’s just say this muffin I tucked away didn’t last long because I got hungry at the airport and ended up devouring every last morsel of this orange muffin that I was going to dissect when I got home. Yes, I had no self-control… and now I’m stuck with just the memory of what it should taste like. *Sigh*
Over the weekend, we attempted our first try at making this sweet treat and although it didn’t have the exact texture we were looking for, it was still a tasty muffin. Don’t worry, we are not going to give up… we’ll have to play around with some other ingredients to see how to make it better! Maybe someone who’s reading this at the Atlantis Resort can ship some of those yummy Orange Muffins to me?
This recipe does not require a mixer, so it's easy and less fuss. Combine the dry ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tbsp grated orange zest.
Next, combine the wet ingredients and mix together to form a batter: 2/3 cup of freshly squeezed orange juice (or OJ from the carton is fine), 1/2 cup melted butter, 2 eggs, and 3 tbsp orange marmalade.
We used mini muffin cups and made a few regular-sized muffins. Pour the batter 3/4 full.
Then, we sprinkled them with crushed pistachio nuts and placed it in the oven at 350-degrees for 15-20 minutes for the minis and 20-25 minutes for the regular-sized muffins.
If we had more pistachio nuts on hand, we would've put them in the batter so that there's a nice crunch when you bite into the muffin. Unfortunately we didn't have many to begin with. This wasn't a complete fail or disaster, but we'll take another stab at remaking this next time with other ingredients to make them more moist so they'd be a better version of the delicious muffins we had in the Bahamas! Cooking is all about trial and error and eventually coming up with a great recipe that will satisfy you. So our motto: Don't give up!
To view or print-out this recipe, click here: Orange Marmalade Muffins
Here are some related posts we’ve done in the past:
Double Blueberry Muffins
Mini Black-Bottom Cheesecakes with Jam
Portuguese Custard Tarts
Cupcake Pops
The muffins look really tasty. Love the addition of the chopped pistachios!
Hi, your orange marmalade muffins looks great . Thanks for sharing this so refreshing muffins. Will try the recipe out
.-= Elin´s last blog ..Apple Strudels =-.
Your muffins look so good and tasty. I really love the orange flavor.
.-= anncoo´s last blog ..Fruit Pastry Cake =-.
Orange marmalade looks good! I love the pistachio nuts toppings!
Funny you didn’t make it onto the airplane. What a great muffin! I love the colors of the pistachio and orange…yum.
.-= Belinda @zomppa´s last blog ..Photo of the Day- Mango Heat =-.
these look and sound really delicious!! tasty and refreshing, the perfect muffin for spring and summer! if your looking to make it moister on your second go round, using yogurt could give you a moister muffin, as could more eggs or egg yolks (but depending on how light tasting they are originally, could end up with an eggy flavor). Thanks for sharing!
.-= Dawn@CocinaSavant´s last blog ..Taste of the Nation =-.
Great Motto=} These muffins look fantastic and I love the addition of the crushed pistachios on top, YUM!
.-= CC Recipe´s last blog ..Coconut Chocolate Cupcakes-Vegan =-.
These still sound really good! Would love to hear future variations.
.-= Alta´s last blog ..Daring Bakers- Chocolate Pavlovas with Almond Butter Cream =-.
I like these, love the orange marmalade and pistachios!
.-= Patty Price´s last blog ..Black Plum Breakfast Focaccia with Olive Oil Streusel =-.
Yummy! Looks lovely.
Look delicious….I’ll try to bake it sometimes. Thanks for sharing
Those look bakery perfect! Pistachios with orange sounds like a very wonderful combo that I never would have thought of.
.-= Alisa´s last blog ..Economical Whole-Grain Spelt Tortillas =-.
The muffins look so good. I really like the pistachios on top.
.-= Cooking with Kait´s last blog ..Lentil Balls with Tomato Sauce =-.
Love orange zest or any orange flavoring in breakfast/snack muffins! I am a total believer of your ‘don’t give up’ motto. It’s pretty much a standard catchphrase in baking – always back to the drawing board until perfect. They look delicious regardless and easy to prepare. Yum!
.-= Kathy Diaz (found baking)´s last blog ..Pear Financiers – The End Result =-.
These are great! I recently saw a recipe for a marmalade cake and was contemplating making it but now you’ve convinced me! I love the picture of the mama muffin with the two little ones!
.-= The Housewife´s last blog ..Herb Pancakes with Avocado Butter =-.
these look great, and best of all, no mixer required! i love the pistachios on top–great touch.
Ohh, that is an amazing little muffin you have created. I love it! I just got super inspired to make my own orange muffins.
.-= Linn @ Swedish Home Cooking´s last blog ..Swedish Home Cooking Princess Cake =-.
What a pretty muffin…Love the pistachio topping:)
.-= Magic of Spice´s last blog ..Whats for Dinner Grilled Pizza with Lemon Balm and Pineapple Mint Pesto =-.
This works. Take it to the bank! Ginger could be nice in there too. Try them again for sure. We’re all about sharing our semi-successes and trying them again.
Hi, K and D. You might not remember the old tourism campaign, “It’s better in the Bahamas.” Maybe that applies to orange-and-pistachio muffins, too….
Great attempt, however, at recipe re-creating, which is something I’ve yet to master.
Dan
You know, some things taste better just because they’re eaten in the fresh air, on a vacation, in a new country etc…
I’m sure you’ll eventually find your perfect orange muffin recipe, but to me, these muffins look fantastic already! I love the inclusion of orange marmalade and the beautiful warm colour of your muffins.
Thanks for the motivational words…
Our readers are the best!
great muffins, i love anything with citrus flavor so these would be a huge hit here..
sweetlife.
.-= sweetlife´s last blog ..Sweet Life Presents Texas Talent- Diana Barrios Trevino from Los Barrios in San Antonio- Texas – Huevos a la Mexicana- Enter to win your own copy of Los Barrios Family Cookbook =-.
Hmm…orange marmalde sounds really refreshing! I bet these are super scrumptious. yummm… Have a nice day.
Cheers, Kristy
.-= kristy´s last blog ..Sate Lilit Indonesia =-.
You can write to Bon Appetit magazine and they will try to get you the recipe. If they can’t get it, they will try to replicate it.
.-= Judy´s last blog ..I CAN DREAM- CANT I =-.