When life gives you lemons, make lemon muffins. These lemon muffins. Light, fluffy, cakey and tangy, they have it all.
I just got back from a 2-day bachelorette party for a dear friend. We spent most of the day hanging out at the pool, talking (girl talk!), and drinking Lambrusco in style. Yep, the good life.
We stayed in a beautiful villa surrounded by enormous citrus trees full of fruit. The owner of the property said we could pick as much as we like. How fun is that? We came back to the house with our hands full of fresh fruits. I picked like 20 lemons.
When I got back home, I had to figure out what to do with all these lemons! I decided to make muffins. I only used one and half lemons , but that’s a start, right?
The muffins are fluffy and moist and have a cakey texture. Their lemony flavor and scent are amazing. They also have just the right amount of sweetness. I couldn’t stop eating them.
The muffins are wonderful for breakfast and are a great way to start your day.
Remember the Bakery-Style Muffins Recipe I shared with you? I talk there about the difference between a bread-like muffin and a cakey muffin. This one is less bread-like and more cakey. I like my fruity muffins to be cakey. To achieve this, I used more eggs and fat (I chose butter, because buttery lemon cakes taste really good) . The liquid I chose to use was yogurt, which makes the muffins light, tangy and moist.
You don’t need a mixer for these muffins. They are made by using the muffin method, which means mixing the dry ingredients in one bowl, the liquids in another bowl and then combine the two together. Doesn’t get any easier than that!
To make them even prettier and yummier I made a sticky lemon drizzle topping, which is really easy to make! Just mix powdered sugar and a bit lemon juice together. When drizzled on top of the muffins, it gives them a nice lemony-sugary crust. You don’t have to add it, but I definitely recommend it … it’s so good!
Everyone who tasted these muffins first said “YUM!”, and then asked for the recipe.
Well, here you go. Enjoy!
- 1¾ cups (250 grams or 8.8 ounces) all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup (135 grams or 4.7 ounces) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup yogurt
- 6 tablespoons (85 grams) butter, melted
- zest and juice of one lemon (mine yielded about 1 tablespoon zest and ¼ cup juice)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
- Preheat oven to 220C/425F degrees. Butter 12 muffin cups or line them with liner papers.
- In a large bowl sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix in the sugar and lemon zest.
- In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs with the yogurt, melted butter, lemon juice and vanilla extract just until combined. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula just until combined. Do not over mix. The batter should be thick and lumpy. Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups (almost all the way to the top). Bake for 3 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 180C/350F and continue to bake for an additional 12-17 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes and then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
- In a small bowl sift the powdered sugar. Add lemon juice until you achieve desired consistency (pourable consistency).
- When the muffins are cooled, pour the drizzle over the muffins.
- Muffins are best the same day they are made, but can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, or they can be frozen for up to 2 months.
24 Comments
Laura
May 19, 2014 at 10:14 amWOW, I just made these muffins and they are truly delightful! 🙂 Thank you so much! I’m already planning to make Double Chocolate Muffins any day soon 🙂
Greetings from Latvia! 🙂
Shiran
May 19, 2014 at 10:30 amThank you so much for sharing Laura! I’m so glad you liked it 🙂 This is one of my favorites!
Kriket
June 3, 2014 at 6:49 pmI made these today, so simple and tasty. I substituted the lemon for orange and lime very tasty. Thanks!
Shiran
June 3, 2014 at 8:17 pmI also use oranges instead of lemons sometimes 🙂 I’m glad you liked it! Thank you so much for sharing Kriket 🙂
Amber
August 31, 2014 at 5:06 pmSo I just made these and they are amazing!!! I’m having a year out and I’m pretty sure it’s going to mainly consist of me making everything on your blog!!! Thank you so so much for sharing your brilliant and wonderful recipes!
Shiran
August 31, 2014 at 5:23 pmAmber, that’s so sweet of you! I’m so glad you loved the recipe! Thank you for sharing, and I hope you enjoy your year out 🙂
Tanisha
September 9, 2014 at 12:50 pmSimply delicious, yummmmmm and the drizzle is really soooo goodddd!!!
Shiran
September 9, 2014 at 6:26 pmI’m glad you like it Tanisha! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Helen
May 15, 2015 at 1:24 amMy first bite is ‘sour’ but very different from other muffins which overly sweet. My family loves it very much. Thanks for sharing the recipe. I love tangy lemon taste. Will try the orange the next time.
Shiran
May 16, 2015 at 6:59 amThank you so much Helen! My family also loves it very much 🙂 They don’t like overly sweet desserts!
Lacie
June 21, 2015 at 3:03 pmJust made these for my roommate and her boyfriend and we all loved them! I think I should have squeezed a little more juice out of my lemon for a stronger lemon flavor, but otherwise they were super moist and really tasty!
Shiran
June 22, 2015 at 12:08 pmThat’s great! Thank you so much for sharing Lacie! 🙂
angela
April 8, 2016 at 8:47 amdid you use plain yogurt, would vanilla work??
Shiran
April 8, 2016 at 6:03 pmI usually use plain yogurt but vanilla would work, too!
Tamsin Brincat
April 15, 2018 at 8:55 amWow! Just made these and they’re truly divine! Substituted all the lactose ingredients with lactose-free alternatives and they turned out amazing! Have already made the ultimate chocolate cupcakes twice! So glad I landed on your website! Such a gem! Thank you!!!
Shiran
April 16, 2018 at 7:34 amThank you so much, Tamsin! I hope you’ll continue to enjoy my recipes!
Libby
October 6, 2018 at 10:22 amThese sound delicious! Is there anything we can use instead of yogurt? My daughter has been begging for muffins but we are out of yogurt.
Shiran
October 7, 2018 at 7:32 amYou can use sour cream if you have it.
Anna
October 14, 2018 at 2:21 pmJust baked these, have not baked in 30 years and they turned out fabulous. You now have me back into baking. Thank you.
Crystal
December 20, 2018 at 1:04 amI just made these as an extra-special breakfast for my children (3, 6, and 7 years old) my husband and me. I made it exactly as written, except that I used half whole multi-grain flour and half all-purpose flour. They were incredible! There is not one thing I would change about the recipe. They were sweet enough to be a treat, but not overly sweet. I made them in mini-muffin tins, and ended up with 38 minis. This is definitely a recipe worth saving and sharing! Thank you!
Andrea
January 19, 2019 at 2:19 pmThese muffins are fantastic!
The flavour reminds me of that of lemon meringue pie….so good!
I’m checking out your other recipes today.
Thank you!
Sonja
January 30, 2019 at 7:58 pmI just made these muffins today. I substituted apple sauce for the yogurt and they came out wonderful! Thank you so much for such a delightful recipe!
fiona Wamala
February 8, 2019 at 12:41 pmAm new to baking and it’s an honour for me to learn from the BEST! These muffins are heavenly 😍😍. I haven’t tasted tastier muffins than these!!!!!!!!!!! Am mos definitely making these again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again Thanks alooooot
Sarah
February 9, 2019 at 1:06 pmIncredibly moist and delicious. A hit all the way around. This is now my go-to muffin recipe.