Lemon Muffins

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These simple lemon muffins are moist and fragrant, and made with healthy ingredients like yogurt and olive oil. They are a great easy-to-make breakfast or snack for busy days.

When life gives you lemons, don’t make lemonade – make lemon muffins! And these healthy lemon muffins, specifically.

I love a good muffin. Breakfast, quick snack, after dinner dessert – I can have a muffin anytime! And while I love an indulgent bakery-style muffin like these cinnamon roll muffins or the BEST banana pecan muffins, more often than not – I try to make them on the healthier side, like these popular healthy raspberry muffins and blueberry banana muffins.

But lately I’ve discovered that my kids are really (and a little surprisingly) into citrusy flavors. This orange loaf cake is requested weekly and on constant rotation and these orange pancakes are a popular weekend treat.

So since I already have a great mandarin orange muffin recipe, I thought I’d try my hand with lemon.

Why You’ll Love These Lemon Muffins

• They are reasonably healthy! With the goodness of yogurt and heart-healthy olive oil, they are a comparatively guilt-free treat.
  Although I usually use an unrefined sugar like maple syrup for muffins, I do go with granulated in this case, because the rubbing together of the lemon zest and sugar releases so much lemon flavor and makes these muffins exceptionally good in my opinion. Feel free to use maple syrup, or another sweetener instead if you prefer.
  
• This recipe takes just 30 minutes from start to finish – and it’s super easy! I love making these with my kids over the weekend.

• These easy muffins are incredibly moist thanks to the yogurt and olive oil. They are also super fragrant – thanks to the lemon juice and zest!

Ingredient Notes

Yogurt

I prefer to use plain Greek yogurt in these muffins, but regular plain yogurt works too. I have used full-fat and low-fat yogurt with success. The yogurt adds a tanginess and depth of flavor without making these lemon yogurt muffins taste sour. It also gives them a moist and light texture without using any butter!

Olive oil

I absolutely love baking with olive oil – you can’t really taste it, and it’s one of the healthiest fats you can use! But if you’re still wary of using it, you can substitute with any neutral oil, or melted butter if you prefer.

Lemons

Now, for the star of the show – the lemons. I wanted the brightest flavor and fragrance, so I used both the zest and juice.

Let’s talk about how to zest a lemon without making your lemon muffins taste bitter!

How to Zest a Lemon

1. Wash the lemon thoroughly under running water.

2. Dry the lemon with a paper towel.

3. Choose a method to zest the lemon.

Zester: If you have a zester (I highly recommend this microplane zester), hold the lemon in one hand and the zester in the other. Place the fine, sharp-edged holes of the zester on one end of the lemon, following the curvature of the fruit. Push slightly into the fruit and pull down to the other end. Repeat this process until the entire lemon peel is removed and only the white pith remains (you don’t want to add the pith to your muffins!)

Fine-meshed grater: If you don’t have a zester, you can use a fine-meshed grater. Place the lemon on a cutting board and grate the yellow peel over a bowl or plate. Be careful not to grate the white pith, as this is bitter and will give your muffins a bitter taste.

Sharp knife: If you don’t have a zester or a fine-meshed grater, you can use a sharp knife. Cut off the ends of the lemon and place it on a cutting board. Carefully cut off the yellow peel, avoiding the white pith. Finely chop the peel and transfer it to a bowl or plate.

How to Make Lemon Muffins – Step by Step

1. Preheat the oven to 375F and grease a standard muffin tin.

2. Combine the sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl. This releases all the oils from the zest and results in the brightest lemon flavor. If you want to go the extra mile, rub the zest and sugar together with your fingers for 2 to 3 minutes.

3. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

4. Now in a large bowl, add in your wet ingredients. Whisk the yogurt, lemon sugar mixture, eggs, egg yolk, lemon juice, vanilla, and olive oil until combined.

5. Now add the dry mixture to the wet batter and mix until just combined.

6. Pour the batter in the muffin cups and bake for around 20-22 minutes. Check by inserting a toothpick in the middle. It should come out clean. Don’t over-bake!

Cool to room temperature, and voila! Your muffins are ready to enjoy.

Tips to Make the Best Lemon Muffins

Use fresh lemons. The flavor of the lemon is the star of the show, so it’s important to use fresh lemons. If you can, use organic lemons, since we’ll be using the outside peel (zest) in the recipe, so it’s best to avoid lemons treated with pesticides and chemicals.

Zest the lemons before juicing them. The zest is the flavorful part of the lemon peel, so it’s important to zest the lemons before juicing them. Rubbing the zest together with the sugar releases the oils from the zest and gives these muffins mouth-watering lemon flavor.

Don’t overmix the batter. Overmixing the batter will make your muffins tough. Just mix the wet and dry ingredients until they are just combined.

Use room temperature ingredients. Let all your ingredients come to room temperature before starting the recipe. This aids in easy mixing, resulting in softer, moist muffins.

Lemon Muffin Variations

Lemon poppy seed muffins: These muffins are a classic variation that adds a bit of crunch and texture to the lemon flavor. To make them, simply add 1 tablespoon of poppy seeds to the batter before baking.

Lemon drizzle muffins: While I love these lemon muffins as they are, they are also lovely, and even more lemony with a glaze, like I make for my mandarin orange muffins. Another option to sweeten these up and infuse even more lemon flavor is to fill them with this easy lemon curd recipe.

To make lemon drizzle muffins, simply bake the muffins according to the recipe, then let them cool completely. Once the muffins are cool, make a glaze by whisking together 2 or 3 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1 cup of powdered sugar. Drizzle the glaze over the muffins and let it set for a few minutes.

Gluten-free lemon muffins: To make these muffins gluten-free, simply use a cup-for-cup gluten-free flour blend in place of the all-purpose flour.

Storage Instructions for Lemon Muffins

Room temperature: Lemon muffins can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days in an airtight container. Just make sure to store them in a cool, dry place.

Refrigerator: You can store these muffins in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Freezer: You can store these muffins for up to 3 months in the freezer. To thaw frozen lemon muffins, simply let them thaw at room temperature for a few hours.