Tangerine Vanilla Muffins

I've been in a real "waste not" kind of kick lately, I may be going a little stir crazy staying at home with the toddler, so I'm finding uses for all sorts of things that would otherwise be discarded. I made my own applecider vinegar this fall with Apple peels and cores from apples I cooked with, lemon extract with zest from lemons I was juicing for other uses and now these muffins! I got some beautiful organic tangerines (which are hard to come by in Arizona because it's illegal to import organic citrus from other states) and didn't want to waste the untainted peel (ok, I may be losing it). So this morning the toddler had to wait for me to zest his tangerine before I peeled it to give to him, a side of patience with his breakfast! 

I think it was worth the wait because he has been gobbling up these muffins since they came out of the oven. They are light, moist and delightfully citrusy. A little bit of sunshine on a cold winters day! I belive they would be equally as good if you used orange, grapefruit, lemon or lime zest. Whatever you have on hand, don't let that peel go to waste!

 Tangerine Vanilla Muffins

   

1 1/2 Sticks of Unsalted Butter

2/3 C Sugar

2 Eggs

2 TBS Tangerine Zest

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 C Unbleached Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Sea Salt

2/3 C Whole Milk Yogurt

Preheat oven to 375. Line either a 12 standard muffin tin or 48 mini muffin tin with paper cups or grease and flour tins. 

In a small bowl mix flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Beat butter and sugar together on high speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs into butter mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition, then incorporate tangerine zest and vanilla. 

Mix in 1/3 C of yogurt followed by half of the flour mixture and repeat with remaining yogurt and flour, mixing on low until ingredients are combined.

I like to use a cookie scoop to scoop the batter into the muffin tin. It's especially helpful when making mini muffins! 

Once you scoop the batter into the tins about 2/3 full, tap the pans down on the counter a few times to settle the batter since it is very thick. Bake minis for 18-20 minutes and full size 25-30 minutes.