With a snowstorm going on outside, it was the type of morning to make muffins. Walking the dog with a strong wind and snow in your face did not seem inviting this morning. The walk will have to wait. My sister-in-law sent me a recipe yesterday for whole wheat orange muffins. They are fibre rich muffins and therefore are a denser muffin. In making these muffins, I used splenda instead of brown sugar, used regular milk and soured it with 2 teaspoons of vinegar as I did not have buttermilk, and also added a bit more than half cup of milk as the batter was stiff to mix. I also used the juice from the two zested oranges. The oranges were large. If you don't have oranges in the house you could substitute lemon juice and zest from a lemon. I don't think I would add half a cup of lemon juice as a straight substitute for orange juice and would likely add 1/4 to 1/3 cup of lemon juice. The muffins are very good according to my DH. I like them because they have body, have an assortment of peel, raisins, nuts and flax and don't taste like cake. One of my pet peeves are muffins that taste like cake which if so, should really be called a cupcake. My sister-in-law took the photo of the muffins that she made.

WHOLE WHEAT ORANGE MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS:

2 ½ cup whole wheat flour

½ cup ground flax

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

2 eggs

½ cup buttermilk

½ cup orange juice

zest of two oranges

1/3 cup canola oil

¾ cup brown sugar or splenda

1 tsp vanilla

¾ cup chopped nuts

¾ cup raisins

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, flax, baking powder, baking soda, salt & cinnamon.

In another bowl beat together eggs, orange juice, zest, buttermilk, oil, brown sugar & vanilla

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, stir with wooden spoon to mix. Gently fold in the chopped nuts and raisins.

Spoon into muffin cups until almost full, bake at 375°F about 20 minutes. Makes 22 to 24 muffins.