Hooray for Breakfast in the Garden: Orange Nutmeg Muffins

This Saturday I am not sure what got into me, but I was on a productivity mission. In the summer, a push for productivity usually means tidying up the garden. Tidying up the garden means planting new flowers (and killing perfectly good ones that I have gotten sick of. A sometimes worries that I sound a little too gleeful when digging up an old shrub), starting the herb garden and getting everything set up for summer weekends of dining outside. 

All day Saturday was spent doing our best imitation of our parents - racing through the suburban sprawl to fight the crowds at Home Depot. When I was a child, these weekends were nothing short of pure torture. The only thing worse than having to schlep to Home Depot with my parents was having to go to Sam's. Now that I am all grown up (!), Home Depot is a place of joyous possibilities. I am not kidding. I could spend hours inspecting hoses and nozzles (and this weekend I did). Light bulbs - did you know how many different kinds there are? Every time I walk into one of those big box stores and realize that I am enjoying myself, I start to feel old. 

The best part about the Saturday clean up is that it meant Sunday breakfast would be the start of our summer meals outside. I had decided early on that muffins were in order and A made a request for his favorite - orange nutmeg - which also happens to be my go-to, no fail recipe for when I want something tasty and homemade that I don't have to think about. I would love to pretend that I created this recipe on my own, but alas, it was something I stumbled across on the internet. Molly from Orangette, I have never met you, or even commented on your blog, but I want to send you a huge thank you for inventing my go-to muffin recipe. 

The addition of cinnamon takes this recipe to the next level, yielding scrumptiously moist muffins. I like to serve them with a simple fruit salad of fresh cantaloupe and strawberries, and a glass of cold-brewed ice coffee. Paired with the FT Weekend, it makes a perfect Sunday morning meal. 

Recipe after the jump!

Orange Nutmeg Muffins

Adapted from Orangette

yield 18 muffins

10 ounces flour

4 ounces brown sugar

3/4 tsp baking soda

1.5 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp grated whole nutmeg

zest from one orange

1 large egg

3/4 cup skim milk

3/4 cup whole milk

4 tbsp oil

6-8 ounces of cinnamon chips

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda, cream of tartar, salt, nutmeg, and orange zest. Orangette calls for baking powder, but I got better results this time with the baking soda/cream of tartar combination. Next mix in the cinnamon chips. I prefer Wilbur brand, which you can order online here. I hate sounding like a snob, but your typical grocery store variety just does not taste the same.

In a medium bowl, lightly beat the egg, and then mix in the milk and oil. Stir until combined, and then gently mix into the bowl of dried ingredients until the wet and dry are just combined. Take care not to overmix, but make sure that the batter does not have giant clumps of flour.

Scoop the batter into a lined muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.