Orange Walnut Muffins

So, as some of you might have seen last night on Facebook, I (Lexi) was having a craving for muffins.  An extreme, or rather extremely distracting, craving that just wasn't going away.  I NEEDED a muffin!  It almost didn't matter what kind it was, I just wanted to pull out all the ingredients and get baking!

There's something comforting about a muffin.  I have a favorite muffin from my childhood that my mom would make once every two or three months (pure butter, sugar, and cinnamon) that we called French Breakfast Puffs, and, let's just say, they would never last that long.  I guess there was a "good" reason they were reserved for special days, as they call for a large amount of butter.  But when you're eating them, you suddenly forget about that small thing called calories (and indulge yourself!).  Someday we'll make those, because they melt in your mouth and are o-so-addicting, but today was a day for a slightly "more healthy" muffin.  Or rather, just one without two sticks (or more...) of butter.any

With all the delicious muffin ideas people suggested, can you believe that I basically didn't have ONE ingredient for any of those?!  So, after raiding the cupboards to see what I had and what my options could be (I figured it was better to use what I had rather than let things go to waste and go to the store to buy more food, when really, there's plenty here to be used), this is what I settled upon.  Someday friends, I shall make the other suggestions.  :)

Orange Walnut Muffins
6 tbs butter (melted)
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups flour
1 tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup yogurt (I used maple!)
zest of one orange
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp orange extract

Preheat oven to 350.

Start by mixing the butter and brown sugar together until smooth and slightly fluffy.  Then mix in eggs, and next yogurt until creamy.  Add vanilla, orange extract, and orange zest and mix just until blended.  Toss in walnuts last and mix for just a few seconds.

In another bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together until blended.  Pour dry ingredients into wet mixture and mix just until incorporated (do not over work the batter).

Depending on your preference, either place liners in your muffin tin or butter and flour.  Divide batter evenly, filling just about to the top.  Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

This recipe yields 12 muffins.