Craving a burst of sunshine in every bite? These easy lemon blueberry muffins are the perfect treat to brighten your morning, afternoon, or any time in between! They are simple to make, yield just the right amount for a small family or a few days of happy snacking, and are bursting with fresh lemon and juicy blueberries. Get ready to fall in love with this delightful recipe!
Sometimes, if you are like me, you will find yourself in your kitchen thinking – what can I bake today that doesn’t require a trip to the grocery store? If you have the baking essentials in your kitchen or pantry – all you need is some lemon and blueberries and you are off to the races!
I happened to have some berries… The hubster had gone to the grocery with the request to buy berries that are on sale. Add to that – this monster lemon tree trying to takeover our backyard.
So I decided to go hunting for a delicious recipe for blueberry muffins. No –> make that lemon blueberry muffins. Shortly following the excellent lemon blueberry muffins I decided I would make some lemon poppyseed muffins using the same recipe / similar approach. Hubster and I very much enjoyed both recipes – so of course I’m sharing with you and documenting for future use !
This is an EXCELLENT Muffin Recipe Base !
This is an ideal recipe – as the crumb is cake-like, which I personally much prefer. Typically, muffins are more dense and chewy – with a course crumb. This muffin has a tender, softer crumb and makes you want to sit with a cup of coffee or a cappuccino and enjoy the bright and fresh flavors!
Flavor Flexibility
Speaking of flavors, the base of this muffin recipe is incredibly versatile. I love it when I find recipes that are flexible and allow for modifications to suit your mood. This is one of those recipes. While lemon and blueberry are a classic combination, feel free to get creative! You can easily swap out the blueberries for other berries like raspberries or cranberries. Or, ditch the berries altogether and add walnuts and cinnamon! The possibilities are endless!
Ideas I have for substitute flavors :
- Lemon Poppyseed (made shortly after lemon blueberry!)
- Chocolate Chip (buy the baby choco chips for this)
- Blueberry – never mind the lemon…
- Lemon Raspberry ?! Oh yum.
- Orange Cranberry ? Maybe near thanksgiving?
- White Chocolate Raspberry? Yes, please
- Cinnamon Walnut – Sure, why not ?
- Anything else you can dream up !
Let’s talk about Lemon Zest and Lemon Extract
While lemon extract is a convenient pantry staple, nothing beats the bright, vibrant flavor of fresh lemon zest. The zest provides an intense citrus aroma and flavor that lemon extract just can’t replicate. Trust me, the extra few minutes it takes to zest a lemon is totally worth it. You’ll be rewarded with an authentic and refreshing lemon experience.
I decided against using the lemon juice though, and instead using lemon extract. I’ve found that when I use lemon juice I don’t always get the “punch” of pucker and lemon flavor that I’m after. And, using a whole lemons worth of juice can put off a baking recipe by messing with the chemistry of acids and baking… As an example, adding lemon juice to milk will result in ‘substitute’ buttermilk for a recipe. Adding lemon extract to milk changes no chemistry in the recipe… it’s just extract + milk.
Therefore – using the zest and the extract together provides the perfect solution for our lemon baking needs !
My secret ingredient
If you haven’t seen my Bright and Tender Lemon Poppyseed Muffin recipe – you may have missed my comments regarding the King Arthur Fiori di Sicilia (FdS). I’m not sure when I first started using this stuff – but it’s legitimately incredible. I often use it instead of vanilla 1:1 for flavoring. However, it is more expensive than even PURE vanilla extract! I did re-read some of the literature on the KAF website and realized I could continue to use vanilla and then augment with less of the FdS to stretch it out a bit and make it more economical.
Trust me on this. If you are baking anything lemon-ish you could either substitute vanilla extract with Fiori di Sicilia or do some combo half vanilla half FdS. You really need this in your refrigerator! You deserve it and you can thank me later. 🤣
Easy as Can Be Muffins
Let’s be honest, we all have busy lives. This recipe is super simple. The most complicated part is to have room temperature butter, eggs and milk. No complicated techniques, and (can’t believe I’m saying this….) this recipe is much easier than the Bright and Tender Lemon Poppyseed Muffin recipe I published previously… (but if you prefer a more crumbly muffin – that is the perfect recipe for you!)
This recipe uses a straightforward butter / sugar creaming with minimal prep time so you can have warm, delicious muffins in under an hour. Perfect for a weekend baking project or a quick weekday treat, these muffins are so simple, even beginner bakers can master them.
The Perfect Batch Size
This recipe makes a perfect batch of 12 muffins. Enough to share (or not!), without having leftovers for days and days that might go stale. It’s the ideal quantity for a small household or for when you just want a sweet little something without a huge commitment. Remember you can always double or triple the recipe if feeding a larger group!
Are you ready to bake ?
Easy Lemon Blueberry Muffins with Sparkling Sugar
Equipment
- Muffin Tin or Silicone Muffin Pan
Ingredients
- ½ C Unsalted Butter – Room Temperature – 1 Stick
- 1 C Sugar
- 2 Large Eggs – Room Temperature
Dry Ingredients
- 2 C Flour – All Purpose
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- ½ tsp Salt
Wet Ingredients
- ½ C Milk – Room Temperature
- 1½ – 2 tsp Extract – Vanilla / Lemon / Fiori di Sicilia
Add – In Flavorings
- 2-2½ C Blueberries – Consider mashing less than half of the blueberries in a bowl if you wish to see more blueberry mixture / ribbons in your muffins.
- 1-2 Lemons – 1 large / 2 small – Zest only
Topping
- 3 Tbl Sparkling Sugar – don't skip this step!!! 😁
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375℉.
- Prepare your muffin pan. Either line with paper liners, spray baking spray or butter and then flour the pan.
Prepare your ingredients
- Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Decide on your extract flavors: For Lemon Blueberry – use 1 tsp vanilla + 1 tsp lemon extract. For Lemon Poppyseed use 1 tsp lemon + 1 tsp fiore di sicilia. If you don't have fiore di sicilia can use 1.5 tsp lemon.
- Combine wet ingredients.
- Wash or measure / prepare your Add in's. IE zest your lemons / wash your berries
Mix the Muffins
- Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl till light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time and mix in between.
- Alternately add the Milk / dry mixture – mixing only until combined.
- Fold in Add-Ins using a spatula.
- Fill muffins 3/4 full.
- Sprinkle on Sparkling Sugar.
- Bake for about 30 minutes. (For me it was definite 30 minutes. You can confirm by testing early with toothpicks coming out clean.)
- Let muffins sit in the pan for a few minutes (~ 10-15 minutes)
- Remove muffins from the pan and finish cooling on a rack.
- Enjoy !
