Tag Archives: Raspberry

Lemon Raspberry Muffins: Sugar-Crusted or Lemon-Glazed

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.

Cupcakes for the 4th of July

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I’ve been seeing lots of fun patriotic-themed recipes the last few weeks, and here’s one I found at Midwest Living that’s easy and festive…decorate white-frosted cupcakes with raspberries and blueberries for a yummy red-white-and-blue treat!

Are you making any special recipes for the 4th?

Have a safe and happy holiday!

Cranberry-Raspberry Smoothie

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I’ve been eating way too many sweets these past few weeks! So I just had to have something healthy for breakfast a few days ago. You know, to sort of balance things out. 😉 The weather had warmed up to an unseasonably balmy 50 degrees, so I thought a smoothie sounded good. I wanted to make one with cranberries, since this is cranberry season, so I came up with this healthy little recipe. It’s a thick, creamy smoothie that also has frozen raspberries, yogurt, honey and a banana in it to help make it nice and thick. It’s not super-sweet, just sweet enough. Drinking this honey-sweetened smoothie helped me from overdoing it on sweets later in the day. Now today was a different story. I probably should have made this smoothie for breakfast again!

This recipe makes 1 large serving (12 to 14 ounces) or 2 smaller servings.

CRANBERRY-RASPBERRY SMOOTHIE

1 ripe banana
1 cup fresh cranberries
1/2 cup frozen raspberries
1/2 cup nonfat milk or soymilk
1/2 cup plain, vanilla, or raspberry yogurt (I like to use plain Greek yogurt)
1 Tablespoon honey

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Makes 1 large or 2 small servings. If you want to make this smoothie extra healthy, sprinkle in some flax seed–about 1/2 Tablespoon–before blending mixture. You won’t even be able to taste it, and you’ll get some extra fiber!

Dark Chocolate–Raspberry Smoothie

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This is a chocolate treat you can feel good about drinking! I came up with this recipe after some experimenting in the kitchen and have even had this smoothie for breakfast…who says you can’t have dark chocolate for breakfast? 🙂 Even though it’s healthy, it would make a great dessert, too–it’s hard to beat that chocolate-raspberry combination! This smoothie has lots of good-for-you ingredients…yogurt, raspberries, banana, honey, soy milk, unsweetened cocoa powder, and of course, some tasty bits of dark chocolate. So if you’re trying to eat healthy, try this dark chocolate smoothie out the next time you’re craving chocolate. And even if you’re not trying to eat healthy, I think you’ll still like it! This recipe makes 1 serving.

DARK CHOCOLATE–RASPBERRY SMOOTHIE

1 cup vanilla yogurt (or one 6-oz. container)
3/4 to 1 cup vanilla soy milk (start out with 3/4 cup; if mixture is too thick, add in the rest)
1 cup frozen raspberries
1/2 banana
1 Tablespoon honey
2 to 2 1/2 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1-3 frozen raspberries, for garnish
1 square 60% or 72% cacao dark chocolate, from a 3.5 or 4 oz. bar, for garnish

In a blender, add vanilla yogurt, soy milk, frozen raspberries, banana, honey and unsweetened cocoa powder; blend ingredients together well.

Pour smoothie into serving glass. Add 1-3 additional frozen raspberries as a garnish on top. Coarsely chop the dark chocolate square and sprinkle over the top of the smoothie.