epic fail: orange muffins

i am pretty new to this wonderful world of culinary exploration... so when you are a rookie, you are bound to have a few epic fails. :) this is one of mine. of course it all started when i was Pinteresting... i found this little gem: http://annies-eats.com/2010/04/16/orange-muffins/ (see bottom of page)
it sounded delish and got raving reviews! i even read some of them, and took some of their advice. like one lady said to use 1 cup orange juice and 1/2 cup milk instead of the suggested visa versa. but mine turned out NASTY! they tasted like flour and they weren't fluffy at all. yuck. i am not sure which one of my rookie mistakes were the culprit, or if it was just a bum recipe. here are my rookie mistakes:


rookie mistake #1: i am not sure if this affected them, but my flour has been in a canister for the better part of a year. does flour expire or get stale?


rookie mistake #2:  i am not sure if this is a mistake or not... i used one stick unsalted butter (that had been un-refridgerated while i was painting my 'fridge, and then re-refridgerated.) and one stick regular sweet cream butter. it said "melted" in the recipe, but i went ahead and just "softened" it instead. 


rookie mistake #3:  this might have been the kicker. i didn't actually read the recipe - i just read the ingredients and dumped them all in my red kitchen aid mixer (maxine) in no particular order... fortunately i didn't add the glaze ingredients! :) by the way, the glaze was AMAZING! the glaze was the only good part. 

epic fail: orange muffins

this is what they were SUPPOSED to look like:

Orange Muffins

Yield: about 2 dozen muffins

Ingredients:

For the muffins:
1 cup milk
½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
½ cup sour cream
2 large eggs
2 sticks (16 tbsp.) unsalted butter, melted
3½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1½ tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
Zest of 1 orange (organic if possible)

For the glaze:
¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1½ cups confectioners’ sugar
1-2 tsp. orange zest (organic if possible)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Line 16 wells of a muffin pan (or pans) with paper liners.  In a medium mixing bowl, combine the milk, orange juice, sour cream, eggs and melted butter.  Whisk together to blend.  In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Stir to blend.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated.  Fold in the orange zest with a spatula.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin cups.  Bake about 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack placed over a baking sheet.

To make the glaze, combine the orange juice, confectioners’ sugar, and orange zest in a small bowl.  Whisk together until smooth, adding more juice if necessary to achieve your preferred consistency.  Drizzle the glaze over the muffins while they are still warm.  Allow the glaze to set before serving.  Store in an airtight container.

Source: The Pastry Queen by Rebecca Rather