Muffins, Meals, Manicures, & More!: Lemon Muffins (Take 2) & a Load of Silly Girl Pics

I found a lemon pound cake that I could work into a muffin recipe and achieve the results I was looking for- moist, light, lemony!

I completed the creaming process with a mixer, though you could do it by hand if you're ambitious. I tire easily while pregnant, I guess, so I utilize whichever electric appliances are at my disposal.

(For the farm, I made a double batch, so you will see double ingredients in my photos this time.)

The first time I made these, I didn't have lemon extract, so I used the pure lemon from my mother-in-law mixed with fresh lemon juice. It worked out well.

Creaming the butter and sugar...

If you make the same mistake as I did (adding sour cream before adding the eggs), rest assured that the end result was the same in flavor. :o)

Adding eggs, vanilla, and lemon...

A dose of friendly companionship makes for a fluffier muffin, too *wink*

Adding the flour mixture

This recipe is thicker in consistency than any other recipe I use. It's more scone-like.

Making the glaze.... easiest segment, again. Adding lemon zest is my own addition. I like how it adds texture, flavor, and zing!

The single recipe yields 5 jumbo muffins. I like the muffin to have a domed top. It's more appealing to my clientele. These baked a little longer than my other recipes. I believe they were in for 20-25 minutes. Again, I hesitate to write a concrete length of time with all the variables involved in baking...

Drizzle the glaze all over the top. It hardens as the muffin cools.

As with every citrus muffin I have baked, these tops were darker than I desired. And there were dark spots around the edges of the papers, indicating the lemon extract was ever-present.

As far as the darker tops go, use a bit of a lower temperature and cook a bit longer (i.e. 390 instead of 400).

I'm still looking at remedies for the black edges caused by lemon extract. If you have a tip, please share it! My first batch didn't have those dark marks (when I used pure lemon and fresh lemon juice), but other recipes using citrus extracts have had them. I have a nagging feeling that the acidity is higher in the extract than in the pure lemon bottle I used.

At any rate, they were DELICIOUS (I have to try every new muffin before selling them. Even after a few tries, it's always good to test them, just for consistency's sake. LOL!!!!)

LEMON MUFFIN RECIIPE

INGREDIENTS

1/2 C buttter, softened

1 C sugar

2 eggs

1/2 C sour cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp lemon extract

1 3/4 C all-purpose flour (or approximated cake flour)

1/2 tsp salt

1 T fresh lemon zest

1/4 tsp baking soda

GLAZE

2 C confectioner's sugar

1 T fresh lemon zest

3 T lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

In large bowl, cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well each time. Beat in sour cream and extracts. Combine the flour,lemon zest, salt, and baking soda, then add to creamed miture just until moistened. DO NOT OVERMIX.

Fill paper-lined muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake at 400F 18-20 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes before removing from pan. Cool on wire rack. Combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over muffins. Yields 1 dozen regular muffins or 6 jumbo muffins.

If I woke up in the morning with hair looking this good...

and a silly face like this....lol

I would throw my hairbrush out the window!
WHO EVEN has HAIR THIS GREAT???? :|

A week ago, spring sprung in the form of an 80 degree day, so we hopped into the car, bought some gardening gear and some herbs to plant. I had gone in the house for a few moments, and when I came back outside, I found this silly (because look at her pose!) girl dressed up in all my new gardening garb (along with her own new gloves and shovel). Why does she always look so much cuter in my hats than I do? LOL