The inspiration from these muffins comes from a delicious olive oil cake recipe from the Whitewater Cooks with Passion book (one of my faves). The cake is so moist and delicious that I wanted to try making a muffin version, only with less sugar and a some different ingredients to up the health quotient from dessert to not-so-bad as a snack or part of lunch…. Or brunch!
For the flour I used a combination of unbleached white and kamut. This kept the muffins light and fluffy, but the kamut flour imparts more nutrition into the mix. Kamut is an ancient grain (khorasan) which is higher in minerals and protein than regular wheat.
To make these pretty, you can dust with icing sugar or garnish with some orange slices.
I like to bake using silicone muffin cups – they are reusable and easier to clean than the muffin tin itself, in my personal opinion! If you do use the silicone cups, remove the muffins from the cups about 5 minutes after they come out of the oven. If you leave them in the silicone too long I find the bottoms get a bit mushy as they don’t cool properly.

Orange Honey Olive Oil Muffins
A chewy treat that tastes delicious warm with butter.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup semolina flour
- 1 cup flour I use ½ cup unbleached white and ½ cup kamut.
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup olive oil
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp whole milk
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 1 tbsp orange zest
- 1 tsp pure vanilla
- 1/8 cup honey
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350F. Use paper muffin cups or grease a 12 count muffin tin.
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In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add the olive oil, milk, orange juice, zest, vanilla and honey. Whisk until well combined.
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In a large bowl, mix together the semolina, flour, baking powder, baking soda and sea salt.
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Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Mix only until combined.
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Fill muffin cups about 3/4 full.
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Bake for 20-25 minutes until firm to touch and golden.