Cooking with my Air Fryer | Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins.

Social media has been abuzz lately with air fryers and their increasing popularity here in the Philippines. I know air fryers have been around for years, but it was only last year when they started to get a lot of hype in my country.

But along with the new-found fame and popularity came the hatred for air fryers and for people who own it, have bought it, and even those who are planning to buy it. Some people would argue that it works the same way as the turbo broiler and/or the convection oven and it would be a waste of money to buy an air fryer if you already have these appliances (I have neither of the two so the air fryer was a very good investment for me), while some say that air fryers are for lazy people or people who don't know how to cook. I strongly disagree with this one, because hey, I know how to cook. My friends who have air fryers know how to cook. And no, we're not lazy people. People who own air fryers (at least the ones I know) are actually busy people who are after the convenience of being able to work on other things while they cook. 

Like what I've said on my Facebook post, people have their own reasons for buying air fryers. If they have the money for it, let them buy it! Let people enjoy things! 

As for me, my seven-month-old relationship with my Hanabishi Air Fryer is still going strong, and I'm proud to say that I whipped up a storm in the kitchen on New Year's Eve (for the traditional Media Noche) with it! My latest creation are these Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins using the oranges from my New Year fruit basket. I had so many fruits and chocolates for the New Year and they all ended up being made into muffins, haha!

Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup Greek yogurt or plain yogurt

1/4 cup milk

2 large eggs

1/3 cup vegetable oil

zest and juice of 1 large orange (about 1/2 cup juice and 1 tablespoon zest)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup chocolate chips (dark or semi-sweet)

For Orange Drizzle Topping (optional):

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1-2 tablespoons orange juice

No drizzle, but I added more chocolate chips on top.

Procedure:

1. Preheat air fryer to 170° Celsius.

2. In a large bowl, mix together the sugar and orange zest.

3. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well.

4. In another bowl, whisk the eggs with oil, yogurt, milk, orange juice, and vanilla extract until completely combined.

5. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined.

6. Fold in the chocolate chips.

7. Bake at 170° Celsius for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 

8. Switch to Convection Broil for 2-3 minutes if you want the muffin tops to look more brown. (Kindly make adjustments to the temperature settings if you're cooking with a conventional oven.)

9. To make the drizzle, sift the powdered sugar in a small bowl. Add the orange juice and stir until the sugar has melted enough and the drizzle can be poured. 

10. When the muffins have cooled down, pour the drizzle on the muffin tops.