Orange Glazed Mini Poppy Seed Muffins

This post is three years in the making! I have been meaning to post the recipe for Orange Glazed Mini Poppy Seed Muffins for the past three years, but have sadly never gotten around to it for one reason or another. These incredibly moist and fluffy mini muffins drizzled with a mouthwatering orange glaze are perfect for Easter brunch though, so I put the pedal to the metal and cranked out a batch out for you!

For as long as I remember, my Mom has been making Orange Glazed Poppy Seed bread for holidays like Easter, to giveaway as Christmas gifts, and whenever my brothers and I would beg growing up. The recipe is from an old church cookbook, and features an irresistible orange glaze that gets drizzled on top of the hot bread and hardens as it cools producing a slight crunch when you bite in – so incredible.

Hence I usually end up eating 1/2 a loaf whenever she makes it, so I tweaked the recipe to make portion controlled, perfectly poppable, 2-bite mini muffins instead!

As an added bonus, the recipe is really easy to make. Here, I’ll show ya’.

Start by beating together milk, eggs, and vegetable oil to create a seemingly standard muffin batter. What makes these mini muffins unique though, is the addition of poppyseeds to the mix, and not one, not two, but three different extracts and flavorings that make every single crumb positively sing with flavor.

Said extracts and flavorings include vanilla and almond extract (I am such a sucker for almond extract!) and imitation butter flavoring. I know. Don’t be scared. You won’t be able to necessarily pick out the imitation butter flavor in the final product, but your mini muffins will definitely be missing a little somethin’ somethin’ if you leave it out. Imitation butter flavoring can be found right in the baking aisle next to the extracts. It’s camera shy, too, apparently.

Beat the aforementioned “wet” ingredients for 2 minutes (this will seem excessive, but roll with it) then mix together the “dry” ingredients including flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar in a separate bowl.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 3 batches, mixing well before adding the next batch.

A couple minutes later you’ll end up with a pale-yellow, poppy seed-studded batter that smells just Heavenly!

Line mini muffin tins with liners, then fill each cup halfway up with batter.

I used a cookie scoop to make sure each mini muffin cup had the same amount of batter, about a heaping Tablespoon.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Note: the muffins will not be golden brown when fully baked, so make sure you test with a toothpick to avoid over baking!

While the mini muffins are baking, mix up the VERY BEST PART of this entire recipe, the Orange Glaze. I could spoon drink this stuff it is so amazing! Simply stir together prepared orange juice with sugar, then mirror the flavors of the mini muffins by adding vanilla and almond extracts, and more of that imitation butter flavoring.

Spoon 1 teaspoon glaze over each mini muffin while still piping hot from the oven, then let cool completely in the tins before popping out.

As the mini muffins cool, the glaze hardens into a sugary-crisp shell that keeps them moist, and positively melts in your mouth.

Orange Glazed Mini Poppy Seed Muffins

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vegetarian

Description

Orange Glazed Mini Poppy Seed Muffins are fluffy with a sweet glaze drizzled on top. The best little bites!

Ingredients

Makes 48 mini muffins

• 1-1/2 cups flour
• 1-1/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 eggs, whisked
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoons Vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 3/4 teaspoon imitation butter flavoring
• For the Orange Glaze:
  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon imitation butter flavoring

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line mini muffin tins with paper liners.
2. Mix together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a medium-sized bowl. Set aside. In a separate, large bowl, beat together eggs, vegetable oil, milk, poppy seeds, vanilla and almond extracts, and imitation butter flavoring for 2 minutes.
3. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in three batches, mixing well between each batch.
4. Fill each mini muffin cup half way full with batter and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Note: mini muffins will not be golden brown when fully baked, so check with a toothpick to avoid over baking.
5. While mini muffins are baking, whisk together the ingredients for the orange glaze in a small bowl. Drizzle 1 teaspoon glaze over each baked mini muffin while still hot. Allow to cool in tins before removing.

This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.

I know I sound like a broken record, but seriously – that glaze! It is so fantastic! I actually, cough, doubled the amount of glaze on each mini muffin in this batch in a manic, sugar-free-induced act of desperation. I could hear Ben crunching on them from, like, 3 rooms over – BAHAHAHA!

Ahem, anyway, I saved a couple to enjoy when the sugar ban for Lent is lifted on Easter Sunday and I can’t wait to dig in!