Almond and Orange Spiced Sweet Potato Muffins

A few weeks ago, Ella was at school, Ani was at a little Halloween party with some friends, and Tally was napping.

I asked Star what she wanted to do together while she had me all to herself and she immediately responded “Cooking lessons!”

We did a quick survey of the pantry and decided that muffins would be our best bet.

She was THRILLED to get to help and that she got to help put in every ingredient without having to alternate with her sisters.

Halfway through the recipe, though, I discovered that I appeared to be out of oranges. I’m sure the recipe would have been fine without it, but I was sorely disappointed.

Then, just as I was finishing up the batter, Star, who was sitting on the counter, reached behind the fruit bowl and pulled out an orange.

It was like a magic trick.

I was delighted and told her, “You saved the day!”

For the next twenty minutes, she kept exclaiming, “I LOVE saving the day!”

While the muffins baked, she was the happy recipient of the entire spatula and bowl to lick without having to share with anyone else, and then we read a big stack of library books while the house filled with amazing smells. It felt like the perfect fall day.

These muffins are outliers because I think they’re good when they’re still warm, but they become MUCH better as they sit a little bit and the flavors get a chance to mix a bit more. So if you can handle waiting an extra 20 minutes or so, it’s worth it!

Also, I made these parchment muffin liners instead of greasing the muffin tin because they’re so easy and I love that they look like a fancy bakery – if you want to make your own, there’s a tutorial here.

almond and orange spiced sweet potato muffins

5 from 5 votes

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Almond and Orange Spiced Sweet Potato Muffins

These delicious sweet potato muffins have a warm orange flavor, a crunchy cinnamon almond topping, and a hint of fall spice.

Course Muffins, Snack

Cuisine American

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 35 minutes

Servings 12 muffins

Ingredients

Almond Topping

• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• zest of half an orange
• 2 Tablespoons butter melted
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds

Muffins

• 2 Eggs
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup oil
• 1/2 cup milk
• zest of half an orange
• 1 14-oz can sweet potatoes drained and mashed
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 2 teapoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

1. In a small bowl, mix together the topping ingredients until crumbly and set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease or line a standard muffin tin and set aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a bowl with a whisk, beat together the eggs, sugar, oil, milk and orange zest for 1 minute. Beat in the mashed sweet potatoes until smooth and evenly distributed.
4. Add all the dry ingredients on top and then whisk until just combined - do not over mix (it's fine if the batter is slightly lumpy).
5. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Sprinkle the topping over the muffin batter.
6. Bake until golden brown and the tops spring back when you press them gently with your finger, about 20-25 minutes.
7. Let cool for 5 minutes, then remove the muffins carefully from the pan and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Recipe Notes

You can use fresh sweet potatoes if you'd rather. You'll need 14 ounces of sweet potatoes (about two regular-sized ones) - peel them, cut them into chunks and boil in hot water until tender, about 15-20 minutes. Then mash them or blend them in a food processor until pretty smooth.

Adapted from the Williams-Sonoma Muffins cookbook

if you liked this sweet potato muffin recipe, you might also like these other recipes:

• Banana Muffins: An Easy Recipe You’ll Love
• Jam Filled Muffins
• Inside Out Carrot Cake Muffins