Orange Cardamom Muffins

Introducing Orange Cardamom Muffins. They’re a “wintery” type of concoction, but not by too many ingredients. The cardamom gives it a good kick without being too overpowering and the orange introduces your palate to a taste of what’s coming in future months.

A member of the ginger family of spices, cardamom is known to improve digestion and is most commonly used in Indian and Asian cooking and baking. In fact, Web India gives cardamom the prestigious title of “Queen of all spices.” While you may be a bit wary of putting a “spice” in a muffin, rest assured that cardamom is commonly used in sweet treats and is more like ginger than you think.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cardamom
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
zest and juice of 2 oranges
2 large eggs
2/3 cup yogurt
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and ground cardamom. Set aside.

3. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter, sugar and orange zest together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, orange juice and yogurt and mix on low speed until the ingredients are well combined. Then fold over the flour mixture in by hand, making sure not to over-mix.

4. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups and bake for 15 to 18 minutes.

Makes 10 to 12 muffins.

Adapted from “Good Cooking’s Delicious Desserts.”