I am definitely not a fancy alcohol drinker.
I mean, I do like having umbrellas in my drinks and the more cherries, the better, but when it comes to actually-fancy things, I’m out.
One time a friend wanted me to try Jameson because it was supposedly sooo much better than the Crown Royal that I worship. But within one sip I was gagging and begging for forgiveness because that stuff is raunchy. I don’t care how much better, more aged, or how fancy it is — I’m perfectly fine with the cheaper Crown.
And don’t even get me started on wine. I like the cheap white wines or Moscatos that taste like extra-sugary grape juice. And I drink them out of Tupperware tumblers that are older than time itself. Wine glasses? Champagne flutes? More like stemless cups from IKEA. I’m sure some wino would have an aneurysm at our lack of appropriate wine-drinking vessels. Riedel for champagne? Totes low-class.
Even when I popped my champagne at 9am to make these muffins, I drank it from a coffee cup. Why? Because you only live once, and spending money on fancy drinkware that I’ll never use isn’t my idea of a good time. Drinking at 9am while baking muffins on a Wednesday is, however, hence this fabulous recipe!
This recipe came to me just before the New Year when I stocked up on champs for New Year’s mimosas. My mom and I enjoy our mimosas and while sipping one, I had the idea to make a mimosa muffin. While these muffins do have a sticky-sweet champagne glaze, the real flavor here is the bright, punchy orange that’s so delicious and makes these muffins really pop. They’re moist, sweet, tart and have a fabulous sparkling top which lends a great crunch and reminds me of the sugared rim on a fancy drink.
2015. The year where we drink our mimosas and eat them, too.
*adapted from my Best Blueberry Muffins recipe
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- Pinch salt
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon (optional, but recommended)
- Zest of one medium orange (about 1 Tbsp or more)
- ½ cup oil
- 1 cup white sugar
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup orange juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Sparkling sugar or coarse sugar, for garnish
- FOR CHAMPAGNE GLAZE:
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup champagne
- 1 cup white sugar
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line two muffin tins with about 18 paper liners; set aside. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, orange zest, and white sugar until combined.
- Add in the oil, eggs, buttermilk, orange juice and vanilla until a thick batter has formed. Batter may be lumpy; that's okay! Do NOT over-mix. Overmixing leads to very dry and tough muffins. Evenly drop heaping Tablespoonfuls of dough into the muffin tins, filling about ¾ of the way full.
- Bake for approximately 5 minutes at 425 degrees F. Then, without removing the muffins, lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees F for about 15 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown on top and when an toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Cool the muffins completely.
- While the muffins cool, prepare your champagne glaze. In a small saucepan, bring the water, champagne and sugar to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to a steady simmer for 10 minutes, then remove from heat.
- Dunk the tops of the muffins into the glaze, allowing excess to drip off. Return to the tin or a platter and sprinkle with the coarse sugar. Serve!
The orange muffins are fresh and offer a nice citrus kick without being terribly orange-y. And the champagne glaze is sweet without being cloying; it offers a great, very subtle champagne flavor that makes these muffins extra special. If you don’t drink champs, feel free to sub sparkling soda (like lemon lime flavored) or even apple cider for a different kick.
Have a fabulous day!!
xo, Hayley
Ah those sound like my kind of muffin! So pretty too, with the sparkling sugar 🙂
Thanks, June! I love the bakery muffins because of that crunchy sugar on top, which I recreated here at home 🙂 Enjoy!!
These look awesome! But I’m not a cinnamon person. Can you explain why you recommend it over skipping it? Thanks!
Lori, feel free to leave it out! I love cinnamon and frankly put it in everything! It will not affect the recipe at all 🙂
Probably a dumb question, but can a pregnant woman eat these?! Lol…I’m 8 months prego and I’ve been wanting a mimosa so bad and this is about as close I can get to having one! When I saw you post these I was like, “She read my mind!” So I decided to look at the recipe and noticed that you boil the champagne glaze mixture, which I assume cooks off the alcohol?! Please say yes, pretty please!!! Hehehe
Shelby, congrats on your pregnancy! So exciting 🙂 Now, don’t quote me on this but I am pretty sure the glaze would be okay. Since the mixture boils for a few minutes, that should give the alcohol some time to burn off but I am NOT entirely positive. The safest bet would be to use a sparkling cider glaze instead to give that effect without the risk of actual alcohol lingering in the syrup. I hope that helps, and hey, one more month until real mimosas! 🙂
I just made these and they are wonderful. The glaze is quite thin so I just spooned it over the muffins rather than dipping them in and it worked fine. I have a lot of it left over, but since it’s really just a simple sugar, I’ll use it to make a cocktail!
Gay, that simple syrup cocktail idea sounds FABULOUS. So glad you enjoyed these!