Recipe: Orange Berry Muffins

Here is a recipe for Orange Blueberry Muffins, which I have lightly adapted from Dorie Greenspan's book Baking: From my home to yours

Orange Berry Muffins (yield: about 12 muffins)

Grated zest and juice of 1 orange 
About 3/4 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
3 tablespoons honey (preferably orange blossom)
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup blueberries - fresh, preferably, or frozen (not thawed)

Decorating sugar, for topping (optional)

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Alternatively, use a silicone muffin pan, which needs neither greasing nor paper cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

Pour the orange juice into a large glass measuring cup or a bowl and pour in enough buttermilk to make 1 cup. Whisk in the eggs, honey and melted butter.

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of orange strong. (Alternately, and my strong recommendation, place the sugar and zest in a food processor (if you have an immersion blender with a small container attachment, this is the perfect size job for that container) and pulse the sugar and zest until the zest is incorporated into the sugar and the mixture is highly fragrant; transfer to a large bowl.) Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough - the batter will be lumpy and bubbly, and that’s just the way it should be. Do not overmix, or the muffins will be rubbery. Gently stir in the blueberries. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 22 to 25 minutes. If you want to top the muffins with decorating sugar, sprinkle on the sugar after the muffins have baked for 10 minutes. When fully baked, the tops of the muffins will be golden and springy to the touch and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins will come out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold. Best eaten the day made, but I can say with some authority that they are good even a couple of days later.

For January 18 (!)

Tomorrow we make our annual visit to Evergreen Cemetery and the gravesite of Nyogen Senzaki Roshi, one of the first Zen pioneers in America, who died 51 years ago in 1958.  He recorded some "last words," which are now carved on his gravestone.  They read:

Friends in Dharma, be satisfied with your own head.  Do not put any false heads above your own. Then, minute after minute, watch your steps closely. Always keep your head cold and your feet warm. These are my last words to you.

It is wonderful to pay respect and gratitude to this early American ancestor.  Anyway, to keep us going for our visit, I am breaking my January "no baking" vacation to make some muffins to bring.  So....

For January 18:

Orange Blueberry Muffins

Pumpkin Muffins

Both from Dorie Greenspan, Baking:  From my home to yours