Orange Date-Walnut Muffins

Makes approx. 12 muffins
Bake at 350f in a convection oven for approx. 12- 18 min. or at 375f in a conventional oven for approx. 15- 20 min.

1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
2/3 c. light brown sugar (lightly packed)
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground cinnamon
1 Tsp. orange zest
1/3 c. orange juice
2/3 c. buttermilk
1 large egg
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
4 Tsp. melted butter
2/3 c. chopped dates
2/3 c. chopped walnuts
                          
Sift dry ingredients (cinnamon and up) together, excluding the brown sugar unless it's really clumpy. Slice dates in half and cut into quarters. Zest and juice an orange. Make sure you chop the zest if you need to, so you aren't eating long strings of orange. You can supplement with store-bought OJ if you really feel like it. Melt butter in a small saucepan over the stove and combine with orange zest/juice. Mix nuts and dates into dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients (OJ and down) and combine. Place in a lined muffin tray by the spoonful. Place into oven. Should be springy to touch when done.

Don't know what zest is? It's the coloured rind of an orange or any citrus fruit. Once you hit the white stuff, it starts to get really bitter and you don't want to eat that. It's fairly easy to remove, you can use any sort of grater with small holes or a microplane. Again, just make sure you chop it really small if you intend to be ingesting it in food. Long strings like in the picture look nice on the plate but not coming out of your muffin.