Healthy Whole Wheat Orange Muffins

Healthy whole wheat orange muffins are sweetened with honey and fresh orange juice for the perfect bright, guilt-free snack or breakfast.

I love sharing my passions with my children as they get older. I love cooking and baking, of course, and B has recently expressed an interest in helping me in the kitchen. One of the biggest perks of this, I’ve discovered, is she ends up eating foods she otherwise wouldn’t.

One of our most recent creations was these healthy whole wheat orange muffins. B and I stayed home from church because she was dealing with some asthma issues, and we had a bag of oranges that needed to be used, so we pulled a bar stool over to the kitchen island and whipped these up.

My intention was to create a healthy muffin recipe, so I left out chocolate, sugar, and butter/oil. Instead, I sweetened the muffins with honey and used applesauce for moistness. I did sprinkle the tops of the unbaked muffins with organic cane sugar for a little texture and sparkle, but that’s optional.

We love this recipe. The muffins aren’t overly sweet; they’re definitely a healthy muffin as opposed to a dessert muffin, but that’s the point. The fresh orange juice and zest give the perfect amount of brightness, while the flax meal and whole wheat flour make them hearty.

I think these healthy whole wheat orange muffins are perfect as is, but you could definitely add dark chocolate chips, cranberries, or blueberries. I’d love to make a version with maple extract, too. Of course, if you want to lose the healthy part, you can make a sweet orange glaze.

Healthy Whole Wheat Orange Muffins

adapted heavily from Pinch My Salt

Ingredients

2 eggs
1/2 cup milk (I use unsweetened almond)
1/2 cup fresh orange juice (about 4 oranges)
2 tbs orange zest
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup flax meal
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
organic cane sugar, for sprinkling (optional)

Ingredients

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Crack the eggs into a large bowl and lightly beat them. Add the milk, orange juice, orange zest, applesauce, honey, and vanilla extract and whisk to combine. Mix in the flax meal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add the flour and stir just until combined.

Scoop 1/4 to 1/3 cup of batter into greased muffin tins and sprinkle with a pinch of cane sugar, if desired. Bake muffins for 13 to 17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Recipe makes 12 to 15 muffins.

Do you love homemade healthy snacks? Check out my whole wheat blueberry banana muffins and no-bake triple chocolate breakfast cookies!

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