It was chilly yesterday morning, but unlike recent mornings in Pittsburgh, the sun was shining and I could see my daffodils poking up through the ground. Spring is coming!
Along with warmer weather, flowers, and sunshine, there are foods that really say “Spring” to me. Fresh, bright flavors like lemon and mint, and fresh spring fruits and vegetables like berries, baby peas, and asparagus are all things I enjoy this time of year. By far, the combination of lemon and blueberries is my favorite. I think I could eat them together in almost any form but one that I love most are Lemon Blueberry Muffins.
So, with blueberries in the fridge that I needed to use up and lemons in the fruit drawer, making muffins this morning was a no-brainer! I love making muffins because they are simple and easy to pull together and they bake quickly too. They really are the perfect treat for a leisurely Saturday morning.
Here are my tips for making delicious Lemon Blueberry Muffins.
5 steps to perfect muffins
Muffins are honestly one of the simplest baked goods to make. Here are the 5 steps I do to make delicious muffins every time:
- Melt the butter while you pull out all the other ingredients. Pull it off the heat as soon as it is melted. It will have time to cool off before you add it to the eggs and milk.
- Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients by hand and only until everything is just combined. You don’t want to over-mix the ingredients. Over mixing causes muffins to be dense and tough! Usually, just 10 – 15 stirs with a wooden spoon is all you need. You will still see pockets of dry ingredients and it will still be a bit lumpy but that is okay!
- Toss berries or other add-ins with a little flour. This helps to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the muffin when cooking.
- Use a 2 oz scoop to fill muffin tins so your muffins are all the same size and cook evenly.
- Bake the muffins until they are just turning brown on top and firm to touch. Over-cooking will leave them dry and tough. 20 – 25 minutes is just enough time.
Tossing the berries with a little flour before mixing them into the batter will help prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the muffin. You’ll have blueberries in every bite!
Other recipes you might love!
Lemon Blueberry Muffins
Equipment
- 12 cup muffin tin
- 2 oz. scoop
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour reserve 1 Tbsp. to toss with berries
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 3/4 cup milk 1%
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 Tbsp. lemon zest
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice
- 2 cups blueberries
Pecan Topping
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter softened
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter a 12 cup muffin tin (or line with muffin papers).
Make Pecan Topping
- Place 2 Tbsp. softened butter in a medium bowl. Add brown sugar and mix together until well combined. Add pecans and mix until crumbly in texture. You can mix this with your fingers to get the right texture.
Make Muffins
- Melt butter and remove from heat. Rinse blueberries well and remove stems. Dry them well and then toss them with 1 Tbsp. of reserved flour and set aside .
- Sift flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
- Beat eggs in a medium bowl until they are a light yellow color and thoroughly mixed. Add milk, melted butter, lemon juice and lemon zest and mix well.
- Stir egg mixture into the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon until just mixed. Batter will still be lumpy.
- Gently and quickly stir in blueberries.
- Using a 2 oz. scoop or 1/4 measuring cup, distribute batter among the 12 muffin cups.
- Top each muffin with 1/2 Tbsp. of the pecan topping.
- Place in the center of the oven and bake for at least 20 minutes and not longer than 25 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then remove from the muffin tin and enjoy!
