Orange-Glazed Muffins with Warm Cinnamon Butter 1.19 Emily in Wonderland

“Oh, I also made those little orange-glazed muffins you like with warm cinnamon butter.” “Sookie, Rune is in the lobby.” “Uh huh.” “Why?” “Your muffin's getting cold.” “My muffin's fine. My muffin wants to know what the fruitcake is doing in the lobby.”

Ingredients:

For the muffins

• 6 tbsp butter, softened

• ½ cup granulated sugar

• 1 egg

• 2 tbsp orange zest

• ⅓ cup orange juice

• 1 cup of all-purpose flour

• ½ cup of almond flour

• 1 tsp baking powder

• ¼ tsp salt

For the glaze

• 1 cup of powdered sugar

• 2-3 tbsp fresh orange juice

For the cinnamon butter:

• ¼ cup butter, softened

• ½ tbsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease and or line a muffin tin.

2. Cream together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Then beat in the egg. Add the orange juice and zest.

3. Sift in the flours, baking powder, and salt and mix until smooth.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tin and fill the wells to about an inch from the top.

5. Bake the muffins for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees or until golden brown.

6. While the muffins are baking, prepare the glaze by adding the powdered sugar into a small bowl.

7. Add the orange juice a tablespoon at a time. You’re looking for a pretty thick consistency, but if you prefer a thinner glaze, add more juice.

8. Then prepare the butter by combining the butter and cinnamon in a small bowl. If you want to create a sliceable butter, use plastic wrap to form a small stick of butter then freeze for about 5 minutes to harden.

9. Once the muffins have cooled, drizzle the glaze across them with a fork.

10. Slice your muffins in half and spread with the cinnamon butter.

You're looking for a thick and creamy muffin batter.

Ah, bribery at its finest! These muffins are sure to help you win over even your most stubborn opponents. I will admit, an orange muffin is low on my list of muffin flavors. I would easily choose a blueberry, chocolate, or banana nut over orange- actually a lot of flavors over orange. However, these muffins are heavenly! If you don’t like your muffins to be super sweet, then skip the glaze as it’s pure sugar. The almond flour gives these muffins a great texture, but if you don’t have any almond flour, you can totally use just all-purpose. What I love about muffins is how they are basically cupcakes without the frosting, but totally allowed for breakfast! Although, if you want cupcakes for breakfast, I say go for it! Again, we don’t play by the rules here.

I love my silicone muffin tin because I don't have to worry about muffin wrappers.

If you want to feel extra fancy, you can whip your cinnamon butter to create a fluffy texture. But I thought there was something fun about spreading a slice of cinnamon butter over my muffin. It makes me feel like I’m at a restaurant again with a bread basket and little slabs of butter. Oh, how I miss going out to eat! Well...actually, there are only some parts about going out to eat that I miss- one of which is definitely bread baskets. I never did the sourdough trend of quarantine. Although, I did do the banana bread trend in the early days of quarantine, and then again for an Emily Gilmore-inspired dish for Rory’s Dance! But I definitely think I’m going to need to dabble in some bread-making so I can have a bread basket.

Your muffins are ready when they're golden brown.

Okay...that was a tangent that has literally nothing to do with this episode. Though, to be fair, was child’s play compared to my beloved Gilmore Guys’ tangents. Those guys got me through a lot of hard times in my life, and I truly miss them. But now into the episode! I love this one so much, and it’s easily one of my favorite Emily episodes. I mean from Emily in a suit and tennis shoes- “what’s up, working girl?”- to her going toe-to-toe with Mrs. Kim in a haggling battle (iconic), and her breakdown over seeing the shed where Lorelai and Rory used to live, there are just so many good Emily moments packed into one episode.

Freshly squeezed orange juice is best for the glaze, but you can use store-bought too.

Let’s talk about that scene where Emily sees the tool shed. To me, that scene is perfect. Rory reminisces on what it was like to live there with Lorelai when they first moved to Stars Hollow, and to her, it was magical. Emily realizes what her daughter ran away to, and it shatters her. Whenever Emily has a moment of vulnerability on this show, Kelly Bishop always does such a fantastic job in that role. I hate that the scene is interrupted by crabby Rune barging in and kicking Rory out of the shed. I completely feel for Lorelai when she doesn’t want him living in what is such a special place between her and Rory- even if she did get bribed with orange-glazed muffins.

Allow your muffins to completely cool before adding the glaze.

Let’s talk a little more about Rune. Why is Rune here? I think he makes for a somewhat interesting plotline for Double Date, and I even defended him a little for getting dragged into a date he clearly didn’t want to go on. But now, Rune has got to go! I think I would actually like the character of Rune more if he made more appearances. Other than Bracebridge Dinner, he doesn’t really have another major appearance. If we’re going to have this weird, annoying character, I want him to be around more because he’d be fun to loathe. Although, if the alternative is replacing him with Jackson’s brother played by the hilarious Nick Offerman- then I am okay with that.

I know it looks a little funny, but slicing and spreading butter is satisfying to me.

Also in this episode, we get the first glimpse of the Dragonfly Inn! I like that Lorelai’s inn is incorporated into the first season. We go along with her for the entire ride of her opening the Dragonfly, and it feels special to witness this journey. I find it interesting that Rachel is the one that first introduces Lorelai to the Dragonfly. In Rachel’s first episode, I shared my thoughts on her character. I really like Rachel, and I actually see a lot of myself in her. I think she makes for a good former love interest for Luke even if they aren’t meant to be. Her connection with the Dragonfly makes for a compelling conflict for Lorelai and for Luke, and I am here for it!

Happy Cooking!

I hope you enjoy these orange-glazed muffins!

If you missed what I made last week, catch up here!