I love this doughnut muffin recipe from King Arthur Flour because not only does it leave itself open to adaptation, but it pretty much encourages it. I used it as a jumping off point to make orange donut muffins and I have to say that when you factor everything into the delicious recipe equation, I love it at least as much as I love orange yeast rolls. You start with a recipe for a perfectly vanilla, slightly crumbly muffin that is reminiscent of cake donuts, and then you can add whatever suits your fancy.
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
Muffins
- Butter – Use real butter.
- Vegetable oil
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Eggs
- Orange zest
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Table salt
- Vanilla
- Orange extract – Optional.
- All-purpose flour
- Buttermilk
Glaze
- Butter
- Orange zest
- Powdered sugar
How to Make Buttermilk Orange Donut Muffins
- Line a muffin tin with liners. I usually get about 15 muffins.
- Zest the orange and set aside. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, oil, and sugars until smooth. Add the eggs and orange zest and beat until smooth. Add the baking soda, baking powder, salt, and vanilla and beat until smooth. Alternately add the flour and buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour, mixing completely after each addition.
- Scoop the batter into the lined muffin tins (I used a 1/4 cup cookie/ice cream scoop and it worked perfectly) and bake.
- When the muffins are cool, melt a little butter in a small mixing bowl. Add the zest of another orange. Slowly whisk in some powdered sugar, beating thoroughly to eliminate any lumps. When you’ve added 1 cup of powdered sugar, it should look like moist frosting. Whisk in a few tablespoons of buttermilk until a smooth glaze consistency is reached.
- Grab each cooled muffin by the bottom and dip it into the glaze. Allow the glaze to set up before serving (or don’t…we’re talking about glazed donut-like things here…it’s hard to go wrong). Makes 12-15 muffins.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store cooled muffins in an airtight container and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
- Other flavors: lemon or cinnamon sugar would be delicious here!
- If you need a gluten free version, King Arthur Flour says to simply substitute their gluten free flour blend for the all-purpose flour.
Buttermilk Orange Donut Muffins
The classic flavors of an orange roll come together with the rich texture of a cake donut and the ease of a quick bread in these delightfully sweet muffins.
Servings muffins
Ingredients
Muffins
- ¼ cup butter softened
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup packed brown sugar
- 2 eggs large
- zest of 1 orange
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon orange extract optional
- 2 ⅔ cups all-purpose white flour lightly spooned into measuring cups and leveled with the back of a knife
- 1 cup buttermilk
Glaze
- ¼ cup butter melted
- zest of 1 orange
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
Muffins
- Preheat oven to 425℉. Line a muffin tin (recipe yields 15 standard-size muffins, so plan accordingly) with cupcake liners and set aside.
- Zest the orange and set aside.
- In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, oil, and sugars until smooth. Add the eggs and orange rind and beat until smooth.
- Add the baking soda, baking powder, salt, and vanilla (and orange extract, if using) and beat until smooth. Alternately add the flour and buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour, mixing completely after each addition.
- Scoop the batter into the lined muffin tins (I used a ¼ cup cookie/ice cream scoop and it worked perfectly).
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15-17 minutes or until the muffins are golden on top. Remove from oven and cool completely on cooling racks.
Glaze
- When the muffins are cool, melt ¼ cup butter in a small mixing bowl. Add the zest of another orange. Slowly whisk in 1 cup of powdered sugar ¼ cup at a time, beating thoroughly to eliminate any lumps. When you've added 1 cup of powdered sugar, it should look like moist frosting. Whisk in a few tablespoons of buttermilk until a smooth glaze consistency is reached.
- Grab each cooled muffin by the bottom and dip it into the glaze. Allow the glaze to set up before serving.
Notes
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- Store cooled muffins in an airtight container and enjoy within 3-4 days for best results.
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- Other flavors: lemon or cinnamon sugar would be delicious here!
-
- If you need a gluten free version, King Arthur Flour says to simply substitute their gluten free flour blend for the all-purpose flour.
Nutrition
Calories: 181kcal, Carbohydrates: 20g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 40mg, Sodium: 252mg, Potassium: 39mg, Fiber: 0.001g, Sugar: 20g, Vitamin A: 247IU, Calcium: 51mg, Iron: 0.2mg
Calories: 181kcal
Cost: $5
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Questions & Reviews
Kate, I am right there with you about lovelovelovelovelovelovelove-ing orange rolls. I just wanted to tell you that I use your everyday cinnamon bun rolls recipe and add orange zest to the batter and then use fresh squeezed orange juice and more orange zest in the icing and they make awesome orange rolls. 🙂
These look so easy for a Sunday morning breakfast. With 9:00 church, (crazy!!!) these will be perfect to have ready for everyone in the morning. These look delicious, thanks for sharing!
Can I use this with lemon… I am making some lemon pound cakes and will have leftover lemons and buttermilk.. Thoughts. Love love your blog..
FOR SURE. Or lime. Or all 3. 🙂
Yum! Wish I would have checked this before I went grocery shopping :0) I need an orange!
Now if we could just get them to look as cute as those bunny shaped orange rolls, it would be perfect! JK…I love this easier substitute, because I was dreading waking up early, too! 🙂
IS that two 2/3 cups of flour or the full 2 2/3 cups of flour in the recipe? You say “Alternately add the flour and buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour,…” so are you dividing the flour in half or thirds or ??? Sorry, I’m confused.
Yep! And it doesn’t really matter how much you add at a time–shake in about 1/2 cup flour, add a little buttermilk, add some flour, add some buttermilk. Just as long as you start and end with the flour, you’re good.
I just want to declare my love for Our Best Bites. Your food is the ymmiest. (Though, I think I’ve gained 5 pounds since discovering the buttermilk caraml syrup.) I can’t wait to try these muffins.
Declaring our love right back to you! 🙂
Do you have an orange roll recipe? Or something that uses a lot of orange juice or oranges? I have bags of oranges! Family fruit off the tree sharing 🙂
Yep! You can use the dough recipe in this link or your favorite sweet roll recipe and just use the filling and glaze.
https://fit-over50.news/2009/09/no-rise-dough-cinnamon-orange-rolls/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
If I made these Friday, would they still be good Sunday?
I would make them now, freeze them, and then glaze them on Sunday morning. Hope that helps! 🙂
Never thought a donut muffin could happen, but it looks like you totally did it. Delicious!