Chocolate Chunk-Orange Muffins

I woke up this morning absolutely in the mood for muffins, and I found this super easy and relatively healthy recipe online.  It was a particularly good choice since I have tons of oranges around the house!  Although the original recipe claimed that one orange would be enough, I ended up using 2 medium oranges and one really big tangerine to get enough juice.  


These muffins have a delicate texture despite using half whole wheat flour - as is often the case, my secret weapon is white whole wheat flour, which works perfectly in this recipe since you don't want to develop the gluten much anyway (and whole wheat flour is lower in gluten).  The orange zest and juice add a terrific flavor and aroma, and the bursts of chocolate throughout the muffins make them feel a little bit decadent.  Although I think chocolate and orange make the perfect flavor pairing, you could definitely change up the mix-ins here - the original recipe called for cranberries and walnuts, and I could also see filling each cupcake with a bit of stewed rhubarb or strawberry jam. 

Chocolate Chunk-Orange Muffins (adapted from Cooking Light, via Serious Eats)
Makes one dozen muffins

1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 T orange zest (from about 3 oranges)
3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (from about 3 oranges)
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg
3/4 cup coarsely chopped bittersweet chocolate

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a muffin tin with paper wrappers.
2. Whisk together the flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl.
3. Combine the orange zest, orange juice, oil, and egg in a liquid measuring cup and whisk to combine.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and fold together with a rubber spatula until just combined.  Add the chocolate and gently fold into the batter.
5. Divide the batter among the muffin cups and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 15 minutes.  Serve warm.