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!

Added Twists to a Classic {Recipe: Tea Scones with Variations}

This recipe comes from my mother's old recipe file and is a good classic scone recipe. The recipe lends itself well to adding different flavors. Vanilla Bean Scones are the first variation I tried and they are fantastic! Starbucks has nothing on these! Honestly, I don't think I will ever have a Starbucks Vanilla Bean Scones again.

Tea Scones

2 cups flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons butter, cold 
1 egg, slightly beaten (plus one egg for brushing on top of scones before baking)
1/2 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment; set aside. 

2. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut butter into about 1/2 inch pieces, then add to flour mixture. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut butter into flour mixture until resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg and milk. Stir with a fork until mixture is just combined. Be careful not to over mix. Turn dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead gently 15 times. 

3. Cut dough in halves and shape each into a ball. Pat or roll each ball into a 6 inch circle 1/2-inch thick. Cut each into eight wedges. Place on baking sheet and brush lightly with lightly beaten egg. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown. 

Makes 16 scones. 

For Vanilla Bean Scones with Brown Butter Glaze:



Increase sugar to 3 tablespoons. In a small bowl mix vanilla seeds scraped from 1/2 vanilla bean into sugar, then sift together with flour, baking powder, and salt. Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract along with the milk and egg. Skip brushing tops of scones with egg before baking. 

Let scones cool for a few minutes after baking, but while still a bit warm dip tops into Brown Butter Glaze. 





Brown Butter Glaze

2 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 vanilla bean
pinch of salt 
1-2 tablespoon hot water

Heat butter in saucepan over medium heat until it becomes a delicate brown color. Remove from heat, whisk in confectioners' sugar and vanilla. Stir in hot water 1 tablespoon at a time until proper glaze consistency is achieved. 

For Savory Cheese Scones:




Decrease sugar to 1 tablespoon and add 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper along with the other dry ingredients that are sifted together. After butter is cut into dry ingredients, use a fork to stir in 1 cup grated medium or sharp cheddar cheese and 1/4 cup grated Parmesan.  A bit of grated Parmesan can also be sprinkled on top of scones after brushing with lightly beaten egg before baking.




For Lemon Scones:


Increase sugar to 3 tablespoons and add zest of one lemon* to dry ingredients with butter. For the scones shown I used 1 cup all purpose flour and 1 cup white whole wheat flour because it is what I have on hand; it worked well. While scones are still warm, dip tops of scones into Lemon Glaze. Dip all scones once, then dip again. This gives the scones nice coating of glaze. A hand full (about a cup) of blueberries can carefully stirred with the wet ingredients OR 1/2 tablespoon of poppy seeds can be added with the dry ingredients.




Lemon Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice*
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla 

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth.

*Note: Orange can be substituted for the lemon for a delicious Orange Scone. 

For Chocolate Chip Scones:

Increase sugar to 3 tablespoons and add 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips. Coarse decorative sugar can be sprinkled on top after brushing tops with egg, before baking (optional). 

Note: these are the larger scones from patting out the dough into one circle about 3/4 inch thick and cut into 8 wedges. 

Enjoy!