Today’s recipe is for Allison, who requested a good lemon muffin recipe. I tend to flit from muffin recipe to muffin recipe and still don’t have a favorite, but this one was very good. My only complaint is it’s a bit rich. It doesn’t taste bad – exactly the opposite, but it’s got a full stick (4 oz) butter to 1 cup flour, which is proportionately high. Still, people like moist muffins and if you have a friend who likes things rich and moist, these are perfect. I also think this recipe might work well for mini-muffins, which can be dry if not made with plenty of butter.
Rich Lemon Muffins
1 cup all purpose flour (140 grams)
1 teaspoon baking powder (5 ml)
1/4 teaspoon salt (1.25 ml) – if using salted butter, use 1/8 tsp.
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (114 grams)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (90 grams)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla (1.25 ml)
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon fresh lemon zest (15 ml)
3 tablespoons lemon juice (45 ml)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 C). Spray 6 to 8 muffin cups with flour-added cooking spray or grease well.
Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Scrape sides of bowl and beat in vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each egg. Stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice. Add flour mixture and stir just until it is mixed in.
Spoon batter into muffin tins, dividing evenly (it should come almost to the top). If desired, sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar (see note at bottom)
Bake for 15 minutes. Cool in pan for about 5 minutes, then flip from pan.
I used 1 tablespoon sugar mixed with ½ teaspoon cinnamon, but didn’t use all of it.
The muffins were awesome! Dense, moist,not too sweet, with abundant lemon flavor. Great with a good cup of coffee.
I just made the muffins for a breakfast tomorrow, and I won’t be putting butter out, that is for sure! I still haven’t tasted them, but since I just received 18 lemons from my father-in-law in Mesa, I had to try it.
Thanks for the bright idea on a gray ND day.
These muffins look great! For people that are observing Lent (like Bunny above), or those that have loved ones on a gluten-free diet, I have a recipe for lemon cranberry muffins that is naturally sweetened, plus gluten-free and dairy-free over here:
http://www.elanaspantry.com/2008/02/05/cranberry-lemon-muffins/
Thanks for all of the amazing treats that you post here. I love your site!
Elana
Felicia, I’m looking forward to hearing how the substitution works.
Alison, I agree with your review. These were rich and more dessert-like. I will keep looking for the perfect lemon muffin recipe.
Recipegirl, I’m with you on the poppyseed issues. They taste okay to me and I like the texture, but they inevitably get stuck in teeth.
I made them in little heart shape muffin mould
and they were (note the past tense!) delicious!
They were quite dense and rich, a bit more dessert
than muffin like. Lovely with cream. Thank you Anna.
I’m going to try these, but I’ll substitute 6 tbsp of low-fat sour cream for an equal amount of butter – as I’m not all that into butter.
Oooh, these look like they straddle the line between muffin and pound cake…and this is a good thing. Yum.
Thanks for the comments. If anyone tries these, please let me know. I gave mine away and haven’t heard back from my friend who ate a whole one. I just had a bit of one and as stated, thought they were good — but not something I’d eat for breakfast.
Steph, thanks for the cake recipe. It sounds very interesting and like something I’d want to try. I’m surprised the cake part has only 2 tablespoons of fat it in.
There’s nothing better than lemon muffins. And I love the recipes that nix the Poppyseeds too! Recipe copied 🙂
Anna,
Thank you so much!! I am going to make these
today…they look fantastic.
I thought I’d send you a recipe and you can store it away for another day. In in the Philadelphia area we have Tastycakes (kinda like a Lil’ Debbie brand) and this is one their snack-type cakes. It’s super easier to make, and I usually have these ingredients on hand. One of the reviews says don’t use chocolate chips because it is hard to cut. In a pinch I have used them and it’s a bit more difficult but not impossible.
Tandy Cake
SUBMITTED BY: Rebecca Harrison PHOTO BY: klzee
“Baked in a 10×15 inch jelly roll pan, Tandy Cake is a yellow cake with a layer of peanut butter and a hard chocolate glaze. This recipe takes a couple of hours to make but it’s worth it! It tastes so good!”
PREP TIME 15 Min
COOK TIME 25 Min
READY IN 2 Hrs 20 Min
SERVINGS & SCALING
Original recipe yield: 1 – 10×15 inch pan
US METRIC
About scaling and conversions
INGREDIENTS
4 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons margarine
1 1/4 cups peanut butter
2 pounds milk chocolate candy bar, chopped
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10×15 inch pan. Sift together the flour and baking powder; set aside.
In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar and vanilla. Beat on high speed of an electric mixer until light and lemon-colored. Beat in the flour mixture. Microwave milk and margarine about 2 minutes, or until it begins to bubble. Stir into batter.
Pour batter into 10×15 inch pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
When cake is cool, plop peanut butter all over and spread evenly to the edges. Refrigerate to set, about 1 hour.
In a microwave safe dish, melt chocolate and spread evenly over peanut butter layer. Refrigerate to allow chocolate to harden.
Reviewed on Jul. 23, 2003 by LINDA MCLEAN If you love those little snack cakes that come in a package, you’ll love this big cake as well. I made this for my daughters’ birthday and it was a huge hit with the gang. Definitely spread the PB while the cake is still warm. Due to total lack of time, I had to cheat and use a box cake mix. It was still awesome and I thank you Rebecca for making the peanut butter and chocolate freaks in my house jump for joy!
Reviewed on Oct. 3, 2003 by Michele Bart Do not substitute the chocolate bars with chocolate chips – it hardens too much and makes it difficult to cut. Take this to your next potluck or picnic.
Reviewed on Dec. 11, 2004 by RMSHOLL I have been making this recipe for years. My husband and kids are addicted! Definately score the chocolate while it is not quite hard. This will make cutting into pieces much easier.
Tell me this one isn’t a “sweet” muffin!!! I gave up sweets for Lent. That almost means I had to give up your blog…but, of course, the Praline Iced Brownies kept me! LOL I’m saving the recipes for after Easter.
These look really good. Do you have a recipe for peach muffins? They used to serve some at Fresh Choice but I haven’t seen any for a long time – and they were pretty good. (Now all they seem to have is blueberry.) Thanks for all the recipes.
they look really good. maybe you could add a glaze or frosting and call them lemon cupcakes.