Orange Poppy Seed Muffins

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Bright, zesty, and bursting with flavor! These Orange Poppy Seed Muffins are soft, fluffy, and packed with citrusy goodness in every bite. They are perfect for breakfast, brunch, or a sweet snack anytime.

Spring is in the air and I’ve been making all the baked goods with fresh fruits.  One of my favorite types of oranges are Cara Cara Oranges which are generally available in late winter or early spring. 

What are cara cara oranges?

Cara Cara oranges are a special type of navel orange with pinkish red flesh inside.  They offer a unique, sweet flavor with hints and berry and low acidity.   They are packed with Vitamin C and antioxidants and are easy to peel.  Plus, they are seedless!  

I bought a huge bag of cara cara oranges at Aldi last week when they were on sale.  While I love eating them plain, I also like to bake with them. 

Since I wanted something that I could enjoy for both breakfast or a snack I knew I wanted to make muffins or a sweet bread.  I also happen to have poppyseeds in the cupboard so I decided to make an orange poppyseed muffin. 

Do I have to use the poppyseeds?

While poppyseeds add a bit of flavor and texture to the muffins they are not needed.    They actually add a nice visual effect as well but again, they aren’t needed in this recipe. 

These muffins are super easy to make and they bake up in about 20 minutes.  That means you can have fresh, delicious muffins in under a half hour.  

If you don’t want to use the fresh squeezed juice you can use orange juice in a bottle but fresh squeezed tastes so good.  Plus, I like to use a bit more of the fresh squeezed juice to make a glaze for the top of these muffins as well. 

Ingredients:

• all purpose flour
• baking powder
• baking soda
• salt
• salted butter (or unsalted if you prefer)
• granulated sugar
• eggs
• Cara Cara orange (or your favorite oranges)
• poppy seeds
• whole milk (or you can use plant based milk)

To make the muffins preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar.   Add the eggs, fresh squeezed orange juice, orange zest, and poppy seeds and mix well. 

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in another bowl.  Add half the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix well.  Add in the milk and stir until combined.  Add remaining flour mixture and mix well. Use a large 1/4 cup cookie scoop and scoop the batter into the muffin cups.  Bake for 20-22 minutes.

These muffins smelled so good coming out of the oven.  They were sweet and I could definitely smell the orange.

They were super tender with a definitely orange flavor but it was not overpowering at all.  The poppy seeds added a bit of crunch to the muffin. 

I added an easy orange juice and powdered sugar glaze to the top of the muffins to give them a bit of added sweetness and more orange flavor which worked perfectly.

Do I have to make a glaze for the top?

No!   If you just want to enjoy your muffins as they are go for it!  They are delicious plain.  If you want to get a little crazy you can make a chocolate glaze as chocolate and orange is a really nice pairing. 

How do you store these muffins?

Store them in an air tight container and leave at room temperature for up to 5 days.  You can also freeze these muffins before glazing by place in a freezer bag and freezing for up to 6 months. 

Orange Poppy Seed Muffins

Bright orange muffins studded with poppy seeds and an orange glaze on top.

4.50 from 2 votes

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Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 22 minutes minutes

Total Time: 32 minutes minutes

Servings: 12 muffins

Author: Hezzi-D

Equipment

• 1 Mixing Bowl
• 1 muffin tin
• 1 1/4 cup cookie scoop

Ingredients

For the Muffins:

• 6 Tablespoons butter softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tablespoon orange zest
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
• 3 Tablespoons poppy seeds
• 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup whole milk

For the Glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1-2 Tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners and set aside.
• In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar.
• Add in the eggs and mix well.
• Stir in the orange zest, orange juice, and poppy seeds.
• In another bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix well to combine.
• Add in the milk and mix until combined. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix well.
• Using a 1/4 cup cookie scoop, scoop the dough into the muffin tin.
• Bake for 20-22 minutes.
• Remove from oven and cool completely.
• To make the glaze combine the powdered sugar and orange juice. Mix well. Dip the tops of the muffins into the glaze and allow to sit 10 minutes for the glaze to harden.

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