Yummiest Cupcakes EVER!...I mean muffins

HOLY CRAP! These are the BEST muffins ever....yes, they are actually called 'muffins', but they are the most decadent muffins I have ever had...maybe it's all the butter the recipe calls for. The caption to this recipe actually says, ' No need to butter these, they are rich and delicious au naturel'. These are better than birthday cake!
This recipe comes from a cook book my sister-in-law, Anne, gave me for Christmas a couple of years ago called, The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather. She has a bakery in Texas called Rather Sweet Bakery & cafe.

The recipe says it yeilds 'About 8 Texas size muffins'....but it yeilded me 6 large muffins and 12 small muffins. It makes me wonder if Texans say stuff like that to make the rest of us feel inferior. I can't begin to imagine how big those 'Texan size muffins' turn out....it turns out the recipe says '3 1/2 inches in diameter and 2 inches deep'.

Essence of Orange Muffins:
Muffins
1 cup Milk
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Zest of 1 orange, preferably organic

Orange Glaze
1 /4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon grated orange zest, preferably organic

To make the muffins: Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease 8 Texas-size (3 1/2 inches in diameter and 2 inches deep) muffin cups with butter or cooking spray or line them with muffin wrappers. Whisk together the milk, orange juice, sour cream, eggs and butter in a medium mixing bowl. Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and stir just until the flour is incorporated. Gently fold the orange zest into the batter and fruit if you are adding.

Spoon the batter into the muffin pan, filling each cup just to the top. Bake for 25 minutes, until they are golden grown around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the muffins in the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack and glaze. (This would be a good time to eat them, too.)

To make the glaze: combine the orange juice, powdered sugar and zest in a medium bowl. spread the mixture on top of each muffin. Serve warm or at room temperature.

This recipe has a kick ass glaze! I have tried other recipes that you cook the glaze to melt the sugar and it is always too watery and the muffin or bread you are making completely absorbs it and stays wet. This creates an actual glaze. ENJOY!!!!