Prep your oven and pans: Preheat your oven to 375°F for 10 minutes. While it heats, line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or lightly coat the cups with butter or cooking spray. This prevents sticking and makes removal easier. Checkpoint: Your oven rack should be in the middle position and your pan is ready when you're ready to add batter.

Mix dry ingredients: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 2 cups all-purpose flour, 1.5 teaspoons baking powder, 0.5 teaspoon baking soda, and 0.5 teaspoon salt. Whisk for 30 seconds until evenly combined and no streaks of flour remain. Checkpoint: All dry ingredients are fully combined and evenly distributed.

Cream butter and sugars: In a separate medium bowl, add 0.5 cup softened unsalted butter (should be soft enough to leave a dent when pressed with your finger), 0.75 cup granulated sugar, and 0.5 cup light brown sugar. Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat for 2 to 3 minutes until the mixture turns pale yellow, light, and fluffy. You should see visible air bubbles and the texture should look almost like frosting. Checkpoint: The mixture is ready when it's noticeably lighter in color and doubles slightly in volume.

Add eggs one at a time: Add 1 egg to the butter mixture and beat on medium speed for 30 seconds until fully combined and no yellow streaks show. Add the second egg and beat for another 30 seconds. The mixture should be smooth and creamy. Checkpoint: No visible egg streaks remain and the mixture looks uniform.

Add vanilla and orange zest: Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and the zest from 2 medium oranges (you should have about 2 tablespoons of bright orange zest). Beat for 30 seconds on medium speed. The mixture will look flecked with orange zest. Checkpoint: Vanilla is incorporated and you can see orange zest flecks throughout.

Add candied orange peel: Stir in 0.25 cup chopped candied orange peel by hand using a wooden spoon or sturdy spatula. Fold it in gently for about 10 seconds until pieces are scattered throughout. Checkpoint: Candied peel is evenly distributed and no clumps remain.

Alternate wet ingredients carefully: You'll now add the Greek yogurt and orange juice alternately to prevent the mixture from becoming lumpy. This step takes about 1 minute total. Add half of 1 cup Greek yogurt (0.5 cup) and stir on low speed or by hand for 15 seconds until barely combined. Then add half of 0.5 cup fresh orange juice (0.25 cup) and stir for another 15 seconds. Add the remaining yogurt and stir for 15 seconds. Finally, add the remaining orange juice and stir for 15 seconds. The mixture should look smooth and thick but pour-able. Checkpoint: No visible yogurt streaks remain and the batter is creamy and smooth.

Fold in the dry mixture: Pour the wet mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold them together by cutting down through the center, across the bottom, and up the side of the bowl. Repeat this motion, rotating the bowl as you go, for about 30 to 40 seconds. Stop as soon as you see no dry flour streaks—this usually takes 15 to 20 folds. Do NOT overmix or you'll have tough, dense muffins. The batter should look lumpy and slightly rough. Checkpoint: No visible dry flour streaks remain, but the batter still looks slightly lumpy and you can see flour streaks if you look closely (this is okay). Do not stir until completely smooth.

Add pecans: Gently fold in 1 cup roughly chopped pecan pieces using the same folding method for about 20 seconds. Pecans should be scattered throughout but not clumped in one area. Checkpoint: Pecans are evenly distributed throughout the batter and no pockets of only batter or only pecans remain.

Fill muffin cups: Using an ice cream scoop or spoon, divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups. Each cup should be about three-quarters full (if you fill them too full, they'll overflow as they rise). You can distribute the batter by filling each cup one-quarter full, then going around again for another quarter, then a final quarter—this ensures even distribution. This step takes about 2 minutes. Checkpoint: All cups have the same amount of batter and none are more than three-quarters full.

Add toppings: Sprinkle a tiny pinch (about 0.25 teaspoon) of additional orange zest onto each muffin top. Then place 5 to 7 pecan pieces on each muffin, pressing them down slightly so they stick to the batter. Finally, use a tiny spoon to drizzle about 0.5 teaspoon of honey onto each muffin top. This takes about 1 minute total. Checkpoint: Each muffin has visible orange zest, pecan pieces, and a light honey drizzle on top.

Bake the muffins: Place the muffin tin in your preheated 375°F oven on the middle rack. Set a timer for 22 minutes. Bake for 22 to 26 minutes total. You'll know they're done when a toothpick inserted into the center of the largest muffin comes out clean or with only 1 to 2 moist crumbs attached (a few wet crumbs are okay, but if wet batter clings, they need more time). The tops should be golden brown with a slight dome shape. The muffins should smell intensely of orange and pecans. Checkpoint: Toothpick test passes (clean or mostly clean) and tops are golden brown.

Cool in pan: Remove the muffin tin from the oven (use oven mitts—the tin is very hot) and place it on a heat-safe surface or cooling rack. Let the muffins sit in the tin for exactly 10 minutes. During this time, they'll firm up and be easier to remove without falling apart. Checkpoint: Muffins are cool enough to touch but still warm, and they've set enough to hold their shape.

Remove from pan: Using your fingertips or a small offset spatula, gently remove each muffin from its cup by lifting from the sides and wiggling slightly if needed. Place each muffin on a wire cooling rack. Cooling racks allow air to circulate underneath, preventing the bottoms from becoming soggy. Let cool for another 15 to 20 minutes on the rack. Checkpoint: All muffins have been removed from the pan without crumbling and are resting on the cooling rack.

Final cooling: Allow the muffins to cool on the rack for 15 to 20 minutes until just barely warm or completely cooled to room temperature. This is important because the interiors continue to cook slightly during cooling (called carryover cooking), so cooling allows the structure to set completely. Once cooled, they're ready to eat immediately or store for later. Checkpoint: Muffins are cool to the touch and have a set, firm structure.