Cara cara orange zest is stirred into mini muffins, and then the juice is mixed with brown sugar and poured over the warm muffins. These are so flavorful and so good!
Have you ever made something, and then asked yourself, “Why have I not tried this before?!” That is exactly how I felt with these cara cara orange mini muffins. I have never baked with orange juice (or orange anything!) before, and I really have no idea why. I like oranges. They are pretty. TheBetterHalf drinks orange juice almost every morning. So why have I discriminated against this citrus fruit in my baked goods in the past? No clue. These beautiful cara cara oranges are what prompted me to bake using oranges, and I am so thankful that they did – these muffins were SO good.
Really. They were soooo good. Maybe even better than these. Wow, I can’t believe I just said that I prefer something fruity to something chocolate peanut buttery! But it is true. The cara cara orange mini muffins stole my heart.
And you know why? Because fresh cara cara orange juice is mixed with brown sugar and then poured over the warm muffins. Oh yes, it is every bit as amazing as it sounds!
But first, a word about cara cara oranges. A cara cara orange looks just like a regular old naval orange from the outside, but when you cut into it, the flesh is pink! If blood oranges are the prettiest fruit, then cara cara oranges might be number two. Let’s just look at how pretty they are:
Stunning! And the flavor is actually slightly sweeter than a regular orange, making them perfect for baking. Plus, they are seedless! So awesome. Although I am still unclear about how to pronounce cara cara orange. Is it car-uh or care-uh? I found both pronunciations on google! Does anyone know the answer?
So back to the cara cara orange mini muffins – the muffins by themselves are pretty great. They are made with buttermilk, which is a secret ingredient that makes muffins so light and fluffy. There is lots of cara cara orange zest in the actual muffin, giving it an amazing flavor.
Sometimes your muffin towers fall down…
But what really sets these muffins apart is the brown sugar glaze!! You pour the orange juice brown sugar mixture over the mini muffins as soon as they comes out of the oven. The hot muffins are like sponges, and they soak up all that amazing flavor. Then when you pop a warm glazed muffin into your mouth – heaven! Seriously. SO good. You will have a hard time stopping yourself from just popping another muffin in your mouth! And these muffins are even great the next day. The glaze keeps them so incredibly moist.
Cara cara orange zest is stirred into mini muffins, and then the juice is mixed with brown sugar and poured over the warm muffins. These are so flavorful and so good!
Ingredients
- 1 sticks salted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cara cara orange, zested then juiced (yield about 1/4 cup)
- 1/3 cup brown sugar (lightly packed)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly spray a mini muffin pan (or two, depending on the size) with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and white sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, about a minute. Add the egg, and mix until well combined, about a minute. Stir in the flour. Dissolve the baking soda into the buttermilk, then add to the batter along with the orange zest. Stir everything to combine, but do not over mix.
- Spoon the muffin batter into the tin, filling the cups about 2/3 full.
- Bake for 10 - 15 minutes, until the muffins are light golden brown.
- Meanwhile, mix together the brown sugar and the cara cara orange juice, until the brown sugar is dissolved.
- Remove the muffins from the oven, and drizzle the glaze over the warm muffins. Remove the muffins from the pan while they are still warm, and enjoy!
Notes
Recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman
Aren’t mini muffins just the cutest? Try these recipes too!
Cinnamon Cookie Butter Mini Muffins
Mini Pumpkin Cinnamon Chip Muffins
You could make these Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins mini!
Wow Draft itself makes me drooling.Waiting to try it.
Mini muffins, yay! Such a perfect breakfast item or to pop into my daughters’ lunch boxes. Cara cara oranges are so beautiful inside too. The first time I bought them and cut into them my girls and I both sighed. Haha!
Thanks, Jamie! These would be perfect for a lunch box!
i love orange muffins! i make some with dried cranberries, oj, and an ENTIRE orange. it’s ridiculous. but so good 🙂
Those sound delicious!! Cranberry goes so well with orange. I am so glad I finally tried making an orange muffin – I need to try your recipe next!
Cate, these look delicious! I love Cara Cara oranges so much — I can only imagine how great they are in (and on) these muffins! Pinning.
Thanks, Marcie! And thanks for pinning!
These sound soooo good! I only recently bought cara cara oranges for the first time, and LOVE them! I should definitely give these muffins a try soon 🙂 I hadn’t thought about the pronunciation – I just assumed CAR-uh, but that’s probably because it’s spelled similarly to my first name (real one, not Cake, obviously 😛 ) and that’s how I pronounce that. Good point, though!
I am new to cara cara oranges too, and I am loving them!! I pronounce them the same way as you!
These sound so delicious! This is the first time I’ve heard of cara cara oranges and I love the pink interior! They almost look like grapefruits. The muffins look great, I’ve never thought to make orange muffins either, but now that I think about it, it’s an awesome idea :D.
I love so many things about these muffins, Cate, not least because they are so darn CUTE! I think they would make beautiful gifts, don’t you? Definitely pinning these. I love lemon loaf cake with a similar glaze to this so I know I’d love these too. 🙂
Mini muffins are so fun! Love this recipe!
I am seriously obsessed with this flavor combination! I ALSO love that it is only 8 ingredients! Looks delicious! Pinned!
Supe cute and very delicious looking muffins. Sorry, can’t help you with the pronunciation.
These muffins are so cute! I love orange in desserts 🙂
I love that pink color inside the orange! Gorgeous! This mini muffins sound delicious. Mini muffins are so dang cute!
1) I’ve never had a cara cara orange
2) Now I really want to try a cara cara orange
3) Then I need to make these muffins, because they look amazing!