Hi everyone! How is everyone doing today? I decided to start the March month blog with some amazing Blueberry Orange Muffins. Don’t they look so professional and beautiful? I did the entire photo shoot myself and really worked with the natural sunlight coming through my Kitchen window so I hope they look beautiful to you. These muffins are fantastic and could not be easier. Let me let you in on a secret about them: They came from a box mix! I know! I actually love doing things like this where I take a box mix of something and improve on the recipe so that they are amazing. The best part of these? No one but you and me and your Kitchen need to know that they came from a box. Trust me, no on e will ever know.

These are the ingredients used: 2 Boxes of mix so that you can make 12 muffins, fresh blueberries, an orange (this one came from a Farmer’s Stand and is grown locally here in California, like the Blueberries! I love buying local anytime that I can), fresh mint (you don’t have to put this in, but I find that it just enhances the flavor nicely and doesn’t kick you in the face with the flavor), vanilla extract (I put this in everything I bake- it is amazing!), Flour, Eggs and Milk as your mix might call for. (If your box mix doesn’t call for eggs and milk like mine did, you can just substitute water for milk or more orange juice).

The first thing you are going to do (after you preheat your oven to whatever temperature the box mix says to-mine was 400 degrees F), is to mix the fresh blueberries with the flour. Now, this is done to keep the fresh blueberries from all falling to the bottom and creating a big mess.

This picture shows you that I minced the Mint and then zested the Orange before cutting it to Juice.

Next, you will add everything to the bowl: Box Mixes, fresh Blueberries, Orange zest and juice, Mint, and Vanilla. You will also add the Eggs and Milk and make sure that you crack the eggs into a separate bowl first (this is just in case you have any shell because who wants shell in with their muffins??) Mix everything well, but do so very gently so that you don’t break the Blueberries.

Next, you will fill a greased 12 hole muffin pan about 3/4 of the way. Make sure you grease the pan before so that your muffins don’t stick and come out very pretty.

Your muffins should look like this- almost all the way full but not completely.

Bake the muffins in the preheated oven for the box mix time. My box said 13-15 minutes and mine took 15 minutes exactly. Every oven is different so just be sure to check them and make sure they don’t burn. Here are my finished product. Now, if you just want to smear some butter on these and go to town, feel free- they are great this way! If you wanted to be a touch fancier though, you could make the crazy easy glaze below and have them be even better!

The optional Orange Glaze only has 3 ingredients and could not be any easier. It has Powdered Sugar, Orange zest and Juice, and a dash of salt. You mix the ingredients together until it is completely smooth and delicious looking.

This is the finished glaze for mine-I like it very Orangey so there is a ton of Orange zest and juice in mine but feel free to use much less if you like.

Now, to glaze the muffins, there really isn’t a set rule. You can dunk them like I did, drizzle the glaze over them, or even roll them around in it until they are completely coated. Go to town and do your own thing! They will turn out great either way.

The glaze will set slightly and become less shiny and slightly opaque, but it will still look amazing.

Here is the beautiful finished product. What do you think???

The recipe is below. Feel free to change this recipe up as much as you like. I started with a box blueberry mix and added orange, mint, and fresh blueberries with vanilla to spice things up a bit. You could go crazy with all kinds of fruits and herbs like Basil and Peaches, no set rules remember? Kiddos love to help with this recipe too so get them in the Kitchen early! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do! Have a great one!

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Feel free to post questions, comments, and just say hi! I would love to hear from you!