I am not even sure how I stumbled on this site- I think it had something to do with Pioneer Woman, but I am so glad I did!  I wanted to post this recipe for you ASAP because these muffins are GOOD, and they're so perfect for the season right now!  As strawberries creep into seasonal perfection, you need to make these muffins.  The orange flavor is light and a nice complement to the strawberry flavor, and the more I bake, the more of a fan I become of anything with buttermilk in it. 



The one thing I'd change is to use turbinado or a coarser grained sugar in place of granulated to top the muffins.  I wasn't crazy about the crust that formed with the granulated sugar on top of the muffin.  Other than that, I would make these as is and gladly devour them.  Also, I think the recipe said it yielded 12 regular sized muffins.  I actually got 12 regular sized and 3 large muffins, so that may translate to somewhere around a dozen and a half regular muffins. 



I'm posting the recipe as is and also providing a link to the page where I found it so that you can check out this fun blog.  Enjoy!



Strawberry Orange Buttermilk Muffins
from Italian Food Forever

1/2 Cup Melted, Cooled Butter (1 Stick)

2 Large Eggs
1 Cup Buttermilk
1/2 Teaspoon Orange Extract
Zest From 1 Medium Orange
4 Teaspoons Baking Powder
Pinch Of Salt
1 Cup Sugar
3 Cups All-purpose Flour
1 Pint Fresh, Ripe Strawberries, Trimmed & Diced

Topping:

1/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Teaspoon Orange Zest



Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Either spray a 12 cup muffin tin with vegetable spray, or line with paper liners. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, orange extract, baking powder, salt, and sugar until well blended. Add the butter and whisk until smooth and light. Add the flour and use a wooden spoon and stir just until the flour is incorporated into the other ingredients. Add the diced berries, and stir to mix into the batter.


Use a large spoon and fill the muffin cups 3/4 full. Mix together the sugar and orange zest for topping, rubbing the zest into the sugar with your fingers. Sprinkle the sugar topping evenly over each muffin cup, and then bake for about 25 minutes or until lightly browned. a cake tester should come out clean when inserted into a center muffin. Cool to room temperature before serving.