My Favorite Fluffy Treats: Tart Lemon Blueberry Muffins

May 12

May 12 My Favorite Fluffy Treats: Tart Lemon Blueberry Muffins

The kitchen these days seems to be more than just a place to eat food. It is a gathering spot where my family is able to spend time sharing, pondering, and unloading. A place that I have recently begun to think of as a space for enrichment. As I’ve grown up, dinner conversation topics could range from the creatures at the bottom of the ocean to the political climate of northern Africa. In the process of making and eating food, I learned and developed more than I ever could have predicted. On the flip side, the kitchen was also the place where we could spend time discussing ourselves and what we felt. When I say the kitchen is where we spent time, I mean it’s where we came to immerse ourselves in the moments of the day- where time stood still and none of our other obligations were brought to the table. And this is exactly what I realized the kitchen has become for me in this time, a safe haven to just be.

As I have mentioned previously, baked goods have often been a part of many of the most memorable moments in my life. From the biggest celebrations and events surrounding milestones to picking myself up when I feel I have hit a low, sweets have always had a special way of bringing light into my journey. I wouldn’t say sugar is necessarily a solution, but it definitely helps along the way. :) This afternoon, I thought, what better way to escape from the researching and reading, talking and walking, thinking and planning, questioning and processing, than to just bake? So off to the kitchen I went.

Since I didn’t necessarily feel like making a trip to the grocery store, I decided to take a look into my pantry and see what ingredients I could use to make a quick and easy treat. Luckily, after asking a friend what her favorite muffin or bread was for inspiration, I settled on lemon blueberry muffins; a sure crowd-pleaser for me, a lemon lover, and my parents, blueberry muffin lovers. I based my recipe on a Pinterest find that advertised cloud-like, sweet muffins. I made a few adjustments to really bring out the tart, citrusy flavor of the lemon, but I can confidently say that these are the most fluffy, moist, and cloud-like muffins I’ve ever made! I hope you enjoy your sweet treat as much as I did mine. Sending safe and peaceful wishes in this time. <3

Prep time: 15 minutes, Cook time: 25 minutes, Cool time: 10 minutes

Muffins:
2/3 cup sugar
zest of 1 1/2 large lemons and 2 teaspoons of zested lemon juice
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons milk
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (I used 1 cup fresh, 1/2 cup frozen)

Glaze:
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon milk

Preheat the oven to 350.
Line 12 wells of a muffin tin with paper liners.
In a large bowl combine the sugar and lemon zest. Make sure to mix the combination with your fingers to really release the oils in the zest. A minute or so will do! The mixture should look a bit yellow once you’ve massaged it.

Add the butter, eggs, vanilla, sour cream, lemon juice and milk. Incorporate each so that the wet ingredients are all mixed. *For the vanilla, I recommend the Morton & Basset brand. Any vanilla will do, but I’ve found that this brand is very fragrant and gives a rich flavor.
Add the flour, baking powder, and salt to the wet ingredients and mix.

Add 1/2 of the blueberries to the muffin mixture. Fold gently. After the first half is incorporated, gently fold the second half into the muffin mixture.
Scoop the batter into the lined muffin tin filling each cup about 3/4 of the way full.

Bake 22-25 minutes depending on how quickly your oven bakes the muffins. The recipe I based my muffins off of recommended 18-20 minutes, but I definitely needed the extra time. Use your best judgment and remove the muffins when they are lightly browned on top and/or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Allow the muffins to cool for 10 minutes. While the muffins are cooling, stir together the lemon juice, powdered sugar, milk, and a small splash of vanilla if you are using artificial lemon juice for the glaze (like I did). The artificial lemon juice tends to have a more tart flavor, which I love, but natural lemon juice will be a bit less sour and therefore will not require vanilla to cut it.