When life gives you lemons, make lemon muffins! These lemon muffins. They are light, fluffy, tangy, and taste amazing. They are also super easy to make!
I just got back from a bachelorette party of a dear friend of mine. 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 citrus trees full of fruit. The owner of the property said we could pick as much as we like, so now I have 20 lemons. I used one lemon for these muffins and now I need to figure out what to do with the rest. Maybe this amazing cake. Or these cookies.
Flavor and Texture
I couldn’t stop eating these muffins. They are fluffy and moist and have a cakey texture. Their lemony flavor is amazing. They also have just the right amount of sweetness. They are wonderful for breakfast and are a great way to start the day.
Remember the Bakery-Style Muffin Recipe I shared with you? I wrote about the difference between a bread-like muffin and a cakey muffin. This one is less bread-like and more cakey because I like my fruit muffins cakey. To achieve this, I use more eggs, fat, and yogurt, which makes the muffins light, tangy and moist. You can use sour cream instead of the yogurt.
How to Make These Muffins
You don’t need a mixer to make 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 an easy sticky lemon glaze. Mix powdered sugar and a bit lemon juice together, then drizzle the glaze on top of the muffins and it will give them a nice lemony-sugary crust. I recommend adding it, but it’s optional.
- 1 3/4 cups (250 grams or 8.8 ounces) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup (135 grams or 4.7 ounces) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup yogurt
- 6 tablespoons (85 grams) butter, melted
- zest and juice of one lemon (mine yielded about 1 tablespoon zest and 1/4 cup juice)
- 1/2 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.
38 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!
Kmbold
September 22, 2019 at 2:01 pmDtto. I have a lemon tree drooping with fruit and after church this morning I wanted a quick and easy and delicious lemon recipe for something special for breakfast. The only difficulty was waiting for them to cool before glazing and digging in. My family said grace with extra fervor.😇 Thanks.
(Hooray for Latvia. You have good recipes too.)
Joe Gisler
October 12, 2019 at 11:03 ami just made these… they are delish!
Joe Gisler
October 12, 2019 at 11:04 ami just made these… they are delish! my parents love them.im going to use an orange next time.
Karina
February 4, 2020 at 11:32 pmTruely delightful
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!
Brooke Rollins
January 5, 2019 at 4:34 pmThis was a really great recipe. I really like to taste the lemon in a lemon cake/muffin, and with these, you can! Shiran, do you think you could use cake flour in place of AP flour? Thanks!
Shiran
March 5, 2019 at 4:29 amI’m glad you like them! You can use cake flour, the muffins will be more delicate.
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.
ruth
February 19, 2019 at 12:55 amI often make these muffins , i love the recipe so easy and quick yo make, they don’t last long in our house and there are only me and my husband
ruth
February 19, 2019 at 12:58 amI have made these muffins a few times i love the simple and easy recipe , and they take no time at all to make, they don’t last long in our house and there is only my husband and me !!!
Monika
June 10, 2019 at 2:53 pmThis is absolutely delicious, not too sweet, super balanced and refreshing flavour, it’s my favourite cupcake recipe now. I didn’t have yoghurt so used soured cream instead and it worked well.
Thank you for that recipe x
Linda
July 17, 2019 at 9:25 amJust made these using muffin cases and they are superb. So easy to make. Yummy!
Gen
August 31, 2019 at 10:47 amHello! Can I use buttermilk instead of yoghurt? How much should I use if it can be done?
Gen
September 6, 2019 at 8:51 pmHi Shiran!! My first attempt at your lemon muffins was a hit! I love how the muffins are tangy and slightly sweet at the same time! May I know if I can substitute butter for oil for a non-dairy option? Thank you!
Divya
October 2, 2019 at 6:27 amTastes amazing and easy to make. Not too sweet either. Tasted great even without the glaze. Will definitely try some of your other recipes
Nino
October 25, 2019 at 1:14 amThanks for the recipe. The taste is great but i realized that muffins dont get separated from its paper easily. I checked them to be cooked before turning off the owen after 17 min.