Cherry, Chocolate and Orange Muffins

I love easy baking on the weeknights. Something sweet and easy that doesn’t have umpteen-million ingredients or processes. I had two tangelos in my refrigerator that I’ve been meaning to do something with for weeks and finally thought some chocolate and orange muffins would be amazing. Neil was out mowing the lawn and I thought it’d be nice to surprise him. I threw these together in about 10 minutes, they baked for 15, and were ready by the time he came in. He loved them and munched on several as we worked last night.

Ingredients:

4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
zest of 1 orange (tangelo)
1 cup plain flour
¾ cup rolled oats
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup chocolate chips (white or dark)
½ cup dried cherries
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ cup milk
¼ cup orange juice
½ cup brown sugar

Directions:

1. 1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F
2. 2. Sift and combine flour, rolled oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a mixing bowl. Add chocolate chips, dried cherries, orange zest and mix.
3. 3. In a separate bowl, combine egg, melted butter, milk, orange juice and sugar. Mix well.
4. 4. Pour the liquid mixture over the dry mixture and stir gently. Mix just until all ingredients are incorporated, but don’t overdo it.
5. 5. Spoon into muffin cups or directly into a greased muffin pan. Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack.

Easy right!? I love when chocolate and orange meet. They remind me of those chocolate oranges you can always buy at Christmas. I used to devour two every Christmas, and thats no small feat, there is quite a bit of chocolate in those. What flavor do you love best with chocolate?