Oh my goodness, can you say “fluffy?” These Orange Poppyseed Muffins are so light and fluffy, the fact that they are made with whole grains and are low in sugar will be easily overlooked.
Allow me to share with you the ingredients that make these muffins so incredible. Drum roll please:
- Almond Extract: Do not skip this ingredient. It takes these muffins up a thousand notches.
- Orange Juice: The OJ gives a perfectly light citrus flavor that pairs perfectly with the almond extract.
- Whole Wheat Pastry Flour: I grind this myself from soft white wheat berries. Oh my goodness, is this stuff amazing! (But if you need to eat GF, I believe your favorite flour blend will work just as well in these muffins!)
- Poppyseeds: What even is a poppyseed? What exactly do these add to the recipe? I have yet to figure this out after all my years of baking.
Many times I’ve considered leaving the poppyseeds out of my Poppyseed Bread or Muffins, simply because I can’t figure out the role they play (aside from the fact that a Poppyseed Muffin wouldn’t be a Poppyseed Muffin without Poppyseeds, and that’s what gives the bread/muffins their name). They have no taste, they don’t make the muffin rise, therefore they seem to only be an aesthetic ingredient.
Who can help me solve the mystery of the Poppy Seed? What is its purpose? Who decided to add them to breads and muffins? We may never know…
But no matter. Go make these muffins and then eat one (or three) fresh out of the oven with a glass of milk or a cup of coffee or tea. They are ridiculously delicious!
Whole Grain Orange Poppyseed Muffins
- 3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- ½ cup sugar or sucanat
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 Tablespoon poppyseeds
- 3 eggs
- 1¼ cups orange juice
- 1 cup melted butter
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Add eggs, orange juice, and melted butter.
- Stir until just mixed (but do not over-stir).
- Scoop batter into 18-24 prepared muffin tins.
- Bake in a 400 degree oven for 18-25 minutes or until muffins are golden brown.
By the way, you’ll likely notice the similarity of this muffin recipe with my Orange Glazed Poppyseed Quick Bread. I tweaked that recipe just a bit to make these simple muffins. I love how they turned out!
Pssst! Want to keep Muffin Mix on hand to sub out for the dry ingredients in recipes like this? Simple Mixes to Save the Day truly do save my day over and over. Find our Muffin Mix Recipe and many more in this delightful treasure!
They look delish! And I love that the recipe has no oil in it! Gotta try these! As for the poppy seeds, I think maybe they give a hint of “crunch”??? If we made poppy seeds without the poppy seeds, something would be missing!!! They are the missing ingredient!
Poppy seeds are the opium that make you feel so happy about these muffins! =) They do add a flavor, but a small amount doesn’t make much difference. I think if they are ground, they have thickening properties.
I’ve tried to pin this recipe, several times, but it’s not working. : (
It looks so yummy & I want to try it sometime!
Thanks! Pinned it!
Not sure why it wasn’t working before!
Can I substitute white pastry flour? I made these, and they were very dense and heavy. I probably did something wrong :(
I’m so sorry, Margaret! Whole grain flours vary widely, so perhaps that is what made them dense. Yes, white pastry flour would definitely work, and will make them lighter. Let us know how they turn out!
-Bethany (Laura’s assistant)