Orange Poppy Seed Muffins

This is my absolute favorite muffin recipe!  It is quick, easy, and delicious.  I know lemon poppy seed is the norm, but I hate squeezing/zesting lemons whereas orange juice is always easy to find and use.  Plus, since oranges are so much sweeter, you can use way less sugar in the recipe and still have wonderful results.  If you want to be fancy, you could definitely use fresh-squeezed oranges and add some zest, but I think the muffins are fabulous just with store-bought orange juice.  This recipe also works great with whole wheat flour; I frequently use whole white wheat flour for some of all of the flour in the recipe, with no noticeable loss of deliciousness!  This muffin recipe is also omni-approved, since I was whole-heartedly assured by my family members that “even normal people would like them!” (they meant it as a compliment).  I hope you like them too!

Orange Poppy Seed Muffins
Yield: 1 dozen

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup oat milk (or substitute your favorite non-dairy milk)
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed meal
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon poppy seeds (or to taste)

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a liquid measuring cup (to save on dishes), measure the orange juice and oat milk, then add flaxseed meal, applesauce, and vanilla.

Make a well in the dry ingredients, add liquid, and stir to combine.  Fold poppy seeds into batter.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups (I use my 1/3 cup measuring cup, but your muffin pan might be slightly different).

Bake for about 15 minutes and allow the muffins to cool before removing them from tin.