Orange-Scented Almond and Squash Muffins

I love Giada De Laurentis recipes. Her food is always so much fun to make. Her Orange-Scented Almond and Olive Oil muffins have been on my love affair list for years now. I made a ton of them when I was breast feeding since they are super healthy and are made with almond flour which is good for your supply. Since I was dairy free at the time, I substituted the Greek yogurt with So Delicious Coconut Yogurt and they were still super delicious.

I love the original recipe but of course have adapted it over time to make them a little healthier and a bit more me. My most recent addition is shredded summer squash since I have a boat load of squash from our CSA that I am still using up. My other major tweak is that I use less sugar making them perfect summer breakfast or healthy snack for the entire family.

¾ C Sugar

4 Eggs

½ C fresh squeezed OJ (I just use the juice from one large navel orange)

¼ C EVOO

¼ C Greek Yogurt

1 C Summer squash, grated

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 large orange, zested

1 C Almond flour

1 ¼ C All purpose baking flour

2 tsp Baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ C sliced almonds, toasted

Powder sugar for dusting (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325 and line the muffin tins. Mix sugar and eggs together until the sugar is totally incorporated. Beat in oil, OJ, yogurt, extract and zest.  In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients together. Slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet until they are completely blended. (I did this entire process in my stand mixer by slowly pouring the dry ingredients into the wet that were already in the mixer bowl.) Fill the muffin tins with 1/3 C of batter and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Dust with powder sugar and serve.