While I don’t enjoy the act of traveling, sometimes I can’t stifle the desire to go somewhere. It’s not the cities and all the magnificent sites, restaurants, and shopping they have to offer that makes me steer clear of traveling. It’s the hotels, flying or driving, and the whole being away from home for an extended period of time that doesn’t appeal to me and pretty much freaks me out. Seeing photos, hearing about others people’s travels, or reading about cities almost makes me forget about those bad things, pack my bags, and head out the door. But I don’t. Maybe that will change one day. I’m not sure if I hope it does or not, for the time being it doesn’t much matter, as that day of change doesn’t even seem to be on my radar.
So, when that desire won’t go away, I look at more pictures, watch more TV shows about various cities domestic and abroad, and sometimes I head to the kitchen to make something that reminds me of somewhere else. Something that if I close my eyes and simply taste the flavors I’ve created I’m no longer sitting in my house, but somewhere far, far away. Those are good moments, moments of perfection.
These Grape and Olive Oil muffins are one of those moments. I created them after seeing olive oil cakes all over the Internet and being intrigued. I love olive oil and cook with it all the time, so baking with it seemed interesting, though even I wasn’t sure it would turn out well. It turned out great! The muffins are incredibly moist with that amazing fruity olive oil flavor. I use Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil and highly recommend it because some olive oils are fruitier than others, and therefore more conducive to baking than others. I can say with certainty this one is perfect for baking. Then there are the juicy grapes, whose sweet juices seep into much of the muffin. I like red grapes in these muffins, though I’m not sure why. The best are actually the globe grapes available closer to Christmas. They have to be seeded, but the effort is totally worth it. All of this is complemented by toasted walnuts. Together the flavors are a match made in heaven.
With every bite, every time I whip up a batch of these easy to make muffins, I am transported to Italy or Greece. The sun shining down on me, looking out on clear blue water, seeing the glory of whatever town or city I happen to be imagining, enjoying the culture, being free of responsibilities, obligations, and commitments. Then the bite is chewed, my eyes opened, the trip over. But there is another one just around the corner.
So if you need a break from the world, or just a really delicious breakfast, make these muffins. Italy is only a couple of mixing bowls away.
They spread all over the pan, but that just means there’s more yummy muffin top to enjoy!
Grape and Olive Oil Muffins
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 35 mins
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 10 1x
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup Filippo Berio Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 2 large eggs
- Zest and juice of 1 orange
- 2 cups seedless red grapes, halved
- ½ cup toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Line 10 cups in a muffin tin with paper liners. It is important to do this or the muffins will fall apart from the weight of the grapes. I like 10 large muffins, but the tops spread over the pan. If you do not want this to happen, make 11 or 12 smaller muffins, but I enjoy the tops of the muffins, which get kind of crispy. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl stir together sugar, orange zest, and oil. When fully incorporated, add the eggs and mix to combine. Add the flour mixture to the oil mixture and stir to combine. You will have a thick, cookie dough like batter. Add the grapes and walnuts, mixing until evenly distributed in batter. The batter will still likely be thick. Add as much orange juice as it takes to have a thick muffin or cake like batter. It will probably take the whole orange, but depends on the juiciness of the grapes.
- Using a regular sized ice cream scoop, scoop the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 25-35 minutes, rotating halfway through if necessary, until a toothpick comes out with only a few moist crumbs on it. Store at room temperature for up to 3 days, or frozen, wrapped in parchment and foil and placed in a zipper bag for up to 4 months. Thaw at room temperature for several hours or in a 350 degree F oven for 15-20 minutes.
Thanks for passing from my blog and it’s a pleasure to discover yours. Love these olive oil muffins although I am not a fan of grapes. As a Greek I use olive oil all the time and have also used it many times in baking. I believe that we have the best olive oil in the world not because I am Greek but have tried Italian olive oil and believe me it does not compare but probably a good Italian olive oil is good because it is mixed with Greek olive oil.
Thank you so much for visiting my blog, Ivy! I will have to buy Greek olive oil the next time I am at the store to give it a try. I have also made these muffins with pears, and they turn out extremely well, so you could easily switch out the grapes for pears.
baking with grapes – yum!!
I like baking with just about any fruit. Grapes are also great roasted with onions and mushrooms and balsamic vinegar for a savory side dish.
Don’t think I ever heard of muffins with grapes. Sound really easy and great. I will try these too along with the zucchini muffins..
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I hope you do give these a try, Debbie! They are one of my favorite muffin recipes any more because they are so unique.
Wow these sound super. I love baking with olive oil too! 🙂
Thanks, Miss Messy! Olive oil is really fun to bake with because it imparts great flavor and so much moisture. And it makes the end product a little healthier, right? 🙂
The tops look awesome – I love being able to break off a crispy bit or two. My mom put grapes in a pie once and since then, I have been strongly in favor of baked goods with grapes in them.
The tops of my muffins are unlike any other muffin I’ve found, but I totally love them. It’s almost like having a cookie on top of a muffins, and that can’t be bad. I have grape pie on my list of things to make. It sounds so good.
I have never thought of using grapes in a muffin!
I aaam totally obsessed with olive oil though, so I’m with you there! 🙂
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Grapes are really fun to bake with because they get super sweet and juicy, imparting a lot of flavor and moisture to baked goods. Isn’t olive oil the best?
Wow, I have never baked with grapes before. I was wondering about it, but I though “nahh..That wouldn’t work.” But it looks like it really does, and I’m impressed.
Also, the top of the muffin is my favorite part, I would be jumping for joy at those things 😉
I love baking with grapes; you should give it a try. If you like the tops of muffins, I know you would really like these 🙂
OMG! My first try on baking muffins and my colleagues loved them. Followed your recipe and managed about 30 mini muffins. Only difference is I used brown sugar and self raising flour as that was what I had available in the kitchen. I just realized that I had a bottle of Filippo Berio olive oil (bought it because it was on 50% extra promotion) …. Hehe…. Also, in half, I used just purple grapes (because one of my colleagues suffers from gout) and in the other half, I used a mixed of purple grapes and roasted walnut. Both tasted v.good! The muffins were moist, just the way I like them. Thumbs up! Thanks for sharing your hassle-free but yet fantastic flavored muffins 🙂
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Thanks for your comment, Dyan! I’m so glad the muffins were a success. Brown sugar is a great idea! I also use Filippo Berio olive oil. I have a really fantastic and easy to make olive oil cake coming up too – so stay tuned 🙂