I first made these muffins six years ago (almost to the date!) when I first started this blog. Back then I tried to healthify them by using whole wheat and cutting down the fat. And they turned out great. But these are really really wonderful as a dessert muffin- with all of that white flour and butter. They rise high are pillowy soft and fluffy. They’re stuffed with orange zest and juicy tart blackberries, which is balanced with honey and sweet citrus juice.

I’ve been baking at high altitude for six months (we moved to Colorado Springs) and almost feel comfortable with it now. This is my go-to guide for adjusting baked goods. I’ll try to include any adjustments* I use when I post recipes from now on. If you ever have any questions about baking at altitude don’t hesitate to ask!

Orange Blackberry Muffins

INGREDIENTS

2 cups all-purpose flour (or 1 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour)
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup sugar + extra for sprinkling on top (optional)
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 navel orange, zested and juiced
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
3 Tbsp. honey
1 cup fresh blackberries (or frozen, thawed and drained)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Lightly grease or line a 12 hole muffin tin.

2. Pour the orange juice into a large glass measuring cup or a bowl and pour in enough buttermilk to make 1 cup. Whisk in the eggs, honey and melted butter.

3. In a large bowl, rub sugar and orange zest together with fingertips until the sugar is moist and you can smell the orange. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and gently but quickly stir to blend. Stir in the blackberries. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Sprinkle each muffin with a bit of sugar (optional- I like how it forms a crispy crust).

4. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin.

*at high altitude: + 2 Tbsp. flour, halve baking powder and baking soda, – 1 Tbsp. sugar, + 2 Tbsp. buttermilk, increase oven temp to 400 F, decrease baking time by several minutes

Makes 12 muffins.

(Adapted from Genesis of a Cook)