When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Muffins! {Recipe: Lemon Muffins With or Without Blueberries}

Well, we are through the 1st week of self distancing during this COVID-19 scare. One of the best things I've seen come out of this is the people on social media willing to help one another. Food bloggers are offering help with figuring out what to do with food people have on hand, teachers offering to help parents who are homeschooling, others offering to help run errands for those who can't, etc... The positive stories far outweigh the negative.

One of my favorite quotes.

My way of dealing with all of this seems to be baking. I'm certainly willing to bake something for someone, if needed, or help someone learn to bake. Muffins are one of the easiest things to make, and they are one of the first things I learned to bake. There is only one main rule: don't over mix! Over mixing results in tough muffins. 

These muffins are made with ingredients I had on hand. Lemons are something I always try to have on hand. They have a relatively long shelf life (a week or two) and I use them in baking and cooking a lot. Also, lemon juice can be frozen if you can't use the fresh ones up fast enough. Just pour one tablespoon of juice into each well of an ice cube tray and freeze; you'll have pre-measured lemon juice at the ready!  

Lemon Muffins With or Without Blueberries

2 cups all purpose flour (can substitute 1/4-1/2 cup whole wheat)
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
zest from 1 lemon
2 tablespoon lemon juice
2/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries, optional*
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease or line with cupcake liners 12-15 wells in a muffin tin(s), depending if adding blueberries; set aside. 

2. In a medium size bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

3. Whisk together butter, egg, vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice until well combined. Alternate adding milk and flour mixture, starting with 1/2 of the milk, then 1/2 flour mixture; repeat. Mix until just combined, there will still be small lumps in the batter. 

4. Using an ice cream scoop, fill prepared muffin tin wells 2/3 full. Bake 18-22 minutes, or until light brown and tooth pick inserted to center comes out clean. 

5. While muffins are still warm, dip the tops of muffins into melted butter, then sugar. 

Makes 12-15 muffins

*Note: I add 1/2 cup blueberries to 1/2 of the batter. Not everyone in my family likes blueberries in muffins. 

Stay safe and healthy my friends!