Meyer Lemon and Blueberry Muffins
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Spring is in the air and fun fruits and vegetables are starting to show up at the market. I grabbed a bag of Meyer lemons last week for a steal and set to work figuring out what to use them for.
What are Meyer Lemons?
Meyer lemons are a citrus fruit that is a cross between a traditional lemon and either a mandarin or an orange. These lemons are prized for their unique flavor profile, which is sweeter, less acidic, and more floral than that of regular lemons. They have a thin, deep yellow to orange peel that is smoother and more fragrant than the thicker, textured skin of traditional lemons. The flesh of Meyer lemons is also a deeper yellow color and contains fewer seeds than regular lemons.
Meyer lemons are a bit sweeter than traditional lemons but still have a tartness to them. Â Â I love baking them into desserts and putting them into cocktails.
This Meyer Lemon Bundt Cake is bursting with bright citrus flavor and can be served for brunch or dessert. Another one of my favorites are Meyer Lemon Scones which are perfect with a cup of coffee at breakfast time or as an afternoon snack. Nothing beats a sweet and tart Meyer Lemon Bar for dessert.
Now, if you are looking for beverages Meyer Lemon lemonade is amazing. I also really enjoy a Meyer Lemon Margarita where I use fresh Meyer lemon juice in place of the traditional lime juice. If you want something with a little fizz than my Meyer Lemon Mule can’t be beat.
I wanted to try something new and noticed I didn’t have any lemon muffin recipes.  I looked in the refrigerator and found a container of blueberries sitting there and decided to make Meyer Lemon and Blueberry muffins.
Can I substitute the blueberries?
You can substitute the blueberries. In fact, one time when I made these muffins I didn’t have any berries and ended up swirling in a half cup of blueberry pie filling and that worked just fine.  You can use an equal amount of raspberries or blackberries in this recipe or chopped strawberries. You can also use a half cup of strawberry, blueberry, or cherry pie filling in place of the blueberries.
Ingredients:
- all purpose flour (you can also use half all purpose and half whole wheat flour)
- baking powder
- salt
- butter (I use salted but you can use unsalted)
- granulated sugar
- Meyer lemons (you can use regular lemons but the Meyer lemons are so good here)
- eggs
- milk (I use whole milk and find it works best though you can use plant based milk)
- fresh blueberries
To make the muffins preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line 2 muffin tins with cupcake liners.  I like to find liners that match the color scheme of what I’m baking so I would go with purple or yellow liners in this case.
In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar until it’s light and fluffy. Add in the Meyer lemon and mix until fragrant. Add in the eggs and vanilla bean paste and mix well to combine.
How do you Zest a lemon?
When zesting a lemon make sure you are only getting the bright yellow part and not the white pith inside as it is very bitter.  The best way to do this is to use a microplane. Rub the lemon back and forth over the microplane, turning the lemon as the lemon zest comes off. Do this until all the zest is off the lemon.
In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix well. Add the milk and mix until just combined. Add remaining flour mixture and mix until everything is incorporated.  Do not over mix.
Add the Meyer lemon juice and blueberries and fold them into the batter.
Fill 18 muffin cups 3/4 of the way full with the muffin mixture. I have found that a 3 tablespoon cookie scoop works perfectly for this.
Bake for 22-24 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into one of the muffins comes out clean.  Cool completely on a wire rack.
The muffins came out gorgeous! The tops were golden brown and you could see the blueberries in them.  I couldn’t wait to taste them.
It turns out they were delicious. The Meyer Lemon flavor is subtle but works well with the blueberries. If you want more lemon flavor whisk together fresh Meyer lemon juice and powdered sugar and drizzle it over top of the muffins.
Meyer Lemon and Blueberry Muffins
Ingredients
For the muffins:
- 3 c. flour
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 c. 1 stick salted butter, softened
- 1 1/4 c. sugar
- 2 teaspoons Meyer Lemon zest
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 3/4 c. milk
- 1/3 c. fresh Meyer Lemon juice
- 3/4 c. fresh blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line 18 muffin cups with cupcake liners. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix and set aside.
- In a large bowl cream together the butter, sugar, and lemon zest. Mix well to combine.
- Add in the eggs and vanilla bean paste and stir well.
- Add half of the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and mix well. Add in the milk and mix until combined. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix until combined.
- Fold in the Meyer lemon juice and blueberries.
- Fill 18 muffin cups 3/4 of the way full with the muffin mixture.
- Bake for 20-24 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. Remove from oven and cool 3 minutes then remove muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
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I really can’t stop my cravings for muffin. Blueberries and lemon are creating superb combination. Love these muffins!