We’ve all heard that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right? Well, if I had these muffins, I’d eat breakfast every day. Heck, I’d eat two breakfasts a day. Unfortunately, this type of logic doesn’t follow healthy dietary guidelines, so I go without breakfast on some mornings and relish the days that I can indulge.

What’s so special about these muffins, you ask? Well, first of all, there is all that sweet gorgeous blood orange glaze that envelopes the tops and runs all the way down the sides of these muffins. Need I say more? Then, the refreshing blend of the blood orange zest and juice together with the nutty hazelnut flour and the slight tang of the sour cream make a delicious combination of flavors. Lastly, the addition of the hazelnut flour adds a slight texture to the muffins, which I really like. Plus, did I already mention the glaze? Oh, I did, did I?

You’ve probably noticed that I have been using nut flours lately. Just last week, I baked some Strawberries and Cream Muffins, using almond flour. Adding nut flours, like the hazelnut flour here, adds protein, which aids in the browning process, and dietary fiber, which lowers the carbohydrate content. It does add more fat, and thus more calories, but also creates a softer crumb resulting in more tender muffins.

These muffins will make waking up a little bit easier, especially over the next couple of days, as we adjust to having set our clocks one hour ahead.

Blood Orange Hazelnut Muffins
Yields 10 to 12 muffins

Ingredients:
For the Blood Orange Glaze
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup freshly squeezed blood orange juice
2 teaspoons blood orange zest
pinch of salt

For the Muffin Batter
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup hazelnut flour (I used Bob’s Red Mill brand)
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (8 tablespoons or 1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 cup sour cream
1 egg
1/4 cup freshly squeezed blood orange juice
1 tablespoon blood orange zest

Method:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.

Make the glaze by combining the powdered sugar, orange juice and orange zest. Whisk until smooth. Adjust the consistency of the glaze, as needed, by adding more orange juice if too thick or more sugar if too thin. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sour cream, egg, orange juice and orange zest.

Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula just until moist. Scoop the batter evenly into each cup of the muffin tin.

Place into oven and bake for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool muffins for 10 minutes and then dip the top of each muffin into the glaze.

Allow glaze to set before serving.

Adapted from Damn Delicious.

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