Laurel of Leaves

getting back to my roots: my journey in true health and natural living

Breakfast, Desserts, Real Food Recipes

Whole Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins

I ate my first orange chocolate chip muffin in New Zealand. It was made by one of our lovely hosts in Mangapai where we slept in an old boat and pooped in a long drop toilet. (But that was probably too much information for you in a post about muffins, huh?) I must have eaten at least 3 of those muffins in one sitting. So ridiculously delicious. I copied the recipe and just recently made my own batch, with a few variations to healthi-fy it. As always.

Whole Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins

And again, I must have eaten at least 3 of these in one sitting. I would have eaten more if I hadn’t had to share with my husband. But he probably would have said the same thing. Good thing we share well.

Whole Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins

For this recipe you literally take an entire orange, peel and all (minus the seeds, of course), and throw it in the blender. How easy is that?! And wow, talk about massive orange flavor in these beauties. You’ll also notice I use natural sweeteners – a combination of pure maple syrup and granulated coconut sugar. I’m especially loving coconut sugar these days (also called palm sugar) because it’s full of flavor, low glycemic (35 on the GI scale), full of nutrients (like potassium, magnesium, zinc, calcium, iron, among others), and it doesn’t generally trigger any food cravings. Find it at your local health food store or order it online.

Whole Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins

Whole Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients:

1 medium size orange
1/4 c. coconut sugar
1/2 c. maple syrup
1 egg
1/4 c. milk (raw cow’s milk, or almond or rice milk)
6 Tbsp. butter
1 1/2 c. whole wheat or spelt flour (preferably freshly ground and/or sprouted)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
3 Tbsp. almond meal
1/3 c. dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 390 F.

Cut unpeeled orange into chunks and remove seeds. Place orange chunks, coconut sugar, and maple syrup into a blender and blend until orange is finely chopped. Add egg, milk, and butter, and blend until combined.

Sift flour, baking powder, and baking soda into a bowl and add almond meal. Pour orange mixture into dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Mixture will still be lumpy. Spoon into muffin tins and bake at 390 F for 15-20 minutes.

Whole Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins

Have you ever baked with coconut sugar? What are your favorite natural sweeteners?

This post is linked to Tasty Tuesdays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Allergy Free Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, Simple Lives Thursday

  1. Emmy

    April 24, 2012 at 2:19 pm

    Oh wow! These look good! :) I need to try them out!

  2. Mare@just-making-noise

    April 25, 2012 at 12:30 pm

    YUMMY!! Yeah, the poop thing was TMI… can’t do that when talking about food… talk about a mood destroyer! LOL!!! Anyway, muffins look good and easy to make. I will have to see if I can find some fresh oranges. We are basically done with orange season here. I can always save this for next year!

    1. Lori Winter

      May 17, 2012 at 5:00 pm

      Haha! Yeah, sorry about that ;) Hope you were able to find some fresh oranges. I can only imagine how incredible these would be with fruit fresh off the tree ;)

  3. Bridget

    May 17, 2012 at 1:05 pm

    These look delicious! Reminiscent of chocolate covered orange peels which I adore!

  4. Heidi @ Food Doodles

    May 17, 2012 at 4:55 pm

    These look awesome! I’m so glad I clicked over(I think it was from foodgawker? Or one of those sites). The ingredients list looks like something I would definitely make! Love the spelt flour. Plus, I love orange and chocolate together :)

    1. Lori Winter

      May 17, 2012 at 5:02 pm

      Thanks Heidi! Glad you found my site. Love your photos on Food Doodles! If you make my muffins, feel free to blog about it and let me know ;)

  5. marjeri

    June 27, 2012 at 4:38 pm

    these look so good! I will have to try it soon! thanks for sharing!

  6. A Glance in the Rearview Mirror (April 2012)

    August 31, 2012 at 1:35 pm

    […] for making a large batch to keep in the fridge for lunches), and ended with an epic dessert muffin (Whole Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins – the whole orange goes in the blender. Talk about […]

  7. Shawnya Slattery

    December 12, 2012 at 12:51 pm

    Lori,

    Your recipe for “Whole Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins” looks divine! Really original. I haven’t run across this combination yet in a muffin(and it makes SO much sense!). I am trying to modify this recipe for my daughter with multiple food allergies (delayed or IGG allergies). One of her allergies is to almonds (one of her highest). Do you have any idea the purpose of the Almond meal in the recipe or what a good substitute will be? I will also be substituting flax gel for the egg (she can’t have those either) and will use coconut milk for the milk and coconut oil for the butter(allergic to dairy too!). Thanks for any help you can give :-)

    Shawnya Slattery

    P.S. I found your site by searching for “Vegan Vitamix Muffins”

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