Here’s another recipe for all of you lemon-lovers out there—I recently did a post on Easy Lemon Bars, and these Lemon Brownies are full of lemon flavor, too! They have a dense, brownie-like texture with plenty of lemon yumminess in every bite! I adapted this from a recipe I found at Rita’s Recipes. I used more lemon juice and zest for my version.
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This is the perfect time of year for lemony treats! And one of the things that makes these lemon bars so easy to make is that they have a cake mix crust! Since the crust is made with lemon cake mix, it adds even more to the lemon flavor of these bars! The filling is light and creamy, and the dusting of powdered sugar on top adds just the right amount of sweetness!
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Lemon is such a great springtime flavor and this past weekend seemed like the perfect time to make some lemon-flavored muffins!
I found a recipe on Pinterest that inspired me, and it also inspired one of my friends to convince me to make them so she could taste-test them! 🙂 So I ended up making these Lemon-Raspberry Muffins with some changes of my own. I used Half and Half (light cream) and yogurt to make them a little more rich and creamy and used lemon extract instead of vanilla for a little extra lemony flavor. And I made two batches with different toppings–sugar-crusted, like the original recipe, and lemon-glazed, which gives the muffins an extra zing of lemon flavor. The glaze I used is the one from my Lemon Zucchini Loaf, which is another good recipe if you are a lemon-lover!
These muffins are so moist and have a light, sweet lemon flavor. And they’re packed with lots of raspberries! If you decide to glaze the muffins (shown in the photo above), adding fresh raspberries as a garnish is a nice touch (just slice the berries in half lengthwise).
I love this little bowl that holds some of the berries I used-it’s actually a sugar/candy bowl, but it works great for berries, too! It’s part of the Daily Grace Collection by (in)courage, sold on DaySpring.com. The platter, square salad plate and pitcher are also from this collection. I really like the clean simplicity of these pieces and the simple, sweet messages of grace and gratefulness!
Here’s a close-up of the sugar-crusted muffins. Granulated sugar is all that’s needed as a topping for these. I can’t decide if I like the sugar crust or lemon glaze best…you may just have to try these muffins both ways and see what you think! 🙂
LEMON RASPBERRY MUFFINS: SUGAR CRUSTED OR LEMON-GLAZED by NancyCreative, adapted from Pink Polkadot Creations
Makes 12 muffins
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, divided
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick), melted
- 1/2 cup Half and Half (light cream)
- 1/4 cup plain or vanilla yogurt
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- zest of 1 lemon, plus 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice
- 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries (use frozen raspberries with no sugar or syrup added and do not thaw)
- For Sugar-Crusted muffins: use 2 to 2 1/2 Tablespoons of granulated sugar for sprinkling on top of muffins before baking
- For Lemon-Glazed muffins: see Lemon Glaze recipe below; use raspberries cut in half lengthwise as an optional garnish
Heat oven to 400˚F. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners or spray with cooking spray.
In medium bowl, combine 1 3/4 cups of the flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add butter and stir to mix together (this will give you a crumbly-looking mixture).
In another medium bowl, whisk together the Half and Half, yogurt, egg, lemon extract, and lemon juice (you’ll add the lemon zest a little later). Gradually add this mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined (batter will be lumpy).
In small bowl, toss the raspberries and lemon zest with the remaining flour. Gently fold the berry mixture into the batter.
Divide batter evenly in the 12 muffin cups (they’ll be about 3/4 full). Then here’s what you do, depending on if you want sugar-crusted muffins or lemon-glazed muffins:
For Sugar-Crusted muffins: Using 2 to 3 Tablespoons of sugar, sprinkle tops of muffin batter before baking. Bake at 400˚F for 17 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Transfer pan to wire rack to cool for 10 minutes before removing the muffins. Then you can serve the muffins warm or let them cool completely–they taste great both ways!
For Lemon-Glazed muffins: Bake at 400˚F for 17 to 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Transfer pan to wire rack to cool for 10 minutes, then remove muffins from pan and cool completely on wire rack. Mix Lemon Glaze and drizzle over each muffin, then top with a fresh raspberry half if desired (raspberries should be cut in half lengthwise for garnish).
LEMON GLAZE
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- Juice of 1 lemon (or 2 Tablespoons lemon juice)
In small bowl, mix powdered sugar and lemon juice until well blended. Spoon glaze over cooled muffins (or loaf). Let glaze set, then serve.
These muffins are great for breakfast, brunch, an afternoon snack, or even dessert. And since I was in a lemon-raspberry mood, I also made a pitcher of Raspberry Lemonade to go with them. Yum! I’ll share that recipe with you in my next post!
Do you like lemon-flavored goodies, and what is your favorite lemony treat?
Linked to Inspire Me Monday, Nifty Thrifty Tuesday, Wow Us Wednesday, Full Plate Thursday, Favorite Things Thursday, I’m Lovin’ It, Six Sisters’ Stuff.
There sure are a lot of big food-related holidays and events during the winter. There’s Christmas, New Year’s Eve and Day, Superbowl Sunday, Valentine’s Day, and St. Patrick’s Day–no wonder it’s so hard to diet this time of year! If you feel like you’re needing a little dose of something healthy, this is just the thing. I was inspired by this Beet Rejuvenator at New Nostalgia and decided that yes, I did need some rejuvenating! 🙂 I don’t eat a lot of beets, but I know how good they are for you. This smoothie is supposed to be super cleansing–it also has carrots, cucumber, lemon, and ginger root in it, so I’m sure it is! I made a few changes, using a whole (small) beet instead of half, and using the juice from one lemon. I also added some honey, so I’m not sure if or how that affects the cleansing qualities of the smoothie. I thought the blend of the veggies with the lemon juice and ginger was good, but I liked having the smoothie a little sweeter. I used raw honey, which has more nutrients than the processed kind.
Also, I used a blender, so I cut my veggies into chunks for easier blending. If you’re using a juicer, you won’t need to do that. If you use a blender, you’ll probably have to stop and stir the ingredients a few times to help blend it, and you’ll have a thicker smoothie. Be sure to use organic veggies if you can! This smoothie does make you feel like you’re getting a little healthy boost, so if you’re in an unhealthy food rut, try this out for a refreshing change!
REJUVENATING BEET SMOOTHIE by NancyCreative, adapted from New Nostalgia
Makes about 2 servings (16 ounces)
- 3/4 cup sliced carrots (about 1 large or 2 small carrots)
- 1 medium-size cucumber, cut into slices or chunks
- Juice from 1 large Lemon
- 1-inch piece of Ginger Root, cut into small chunks
- 1 small Beet Root, cut into chunks
- 2 Tablespoons raw honey
Put all ingredients in your blender or juicer, and blend till smooth (if using a blender, you may have to stop it and stir to help the mixture along). Pour into 2 glasses and serve.
Have you ever made a smoothie with beets? What other healthy kinds of smoothies do you like to make?
Lemonade always sounds good on a hot day, and I think the fresh-squeezed kind is always the best! I don’t know why I don’t make this more often, because it tastes so good! And it’s not that much work to use fresh-squeezed lemon juice. This is a variation of a recipe from Domino Sugar. Sadly, there’s only about a month left of summer! I’m not sure where the time has gone, but we might as well enjoy what’s left of the season with some lemonade! Or try some Iced Tea Lemonade…see instructions at the end of the recipe below.
Before you make your lemonade, check out these helpful tips:
1. To extract the most juice from lemons, soften them by rolling and pressing them on your counter top before juicing them.
2. To keep your lemonade from becoming too diluted from ice cubes, make your ice cubes out of lemonade–you can make some lemonade ahead of time for that purpose and keep them in the freezer so they’re ready when you need them!
FRESH-SQUEEZED LEMONADE by NancyC, adapted from Domino Sugar
Makes 2 to 4 servings
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 1/2 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice (about 3 medium-to-large lemons)
- 2/3 to 3/4 cup sugar, depending on how sweet you like your lemonade
- Fresh mint for garnish (optional)
- Lemon slices for garnish (optional)
Combine water and lemon juice in a pitcher, then add sugar. Mix well, stirring until sugar dissolves. Pour into ice-filled glasses, and garnish with mint leaves and lemon slices if desired. You can double the recipe and use a larger pitcher if you need more servings.
ICED TEA LEMONADE: I like to mix iced tea and lemonade together–it’s a nice variation if you like a lemony flavor in your tea. To make it, all you need to do is combine equal amounts of your favorite iced tea with this lemonade recipe. Add additional sugar if desired, to taste.
Do you make lemonade often? Fresh-squeezed or from a mix or concentrate?
NancyC 