Our two lemon trees have blessed us again this year with an abundance of fruit even during the nasty drought we are experiencing in California. Last summer, I looked at our trees with the yellowing leaves knowing I could only water them on the odd number days because of our water restriction, and still the trees produced large juicy lemons.
Luckily, the lemons stay fresh long after we pick them so I have a ready supply for cooking and baking. I love anything with lemon in it, and today I am making Tuscan Lemon Muffins, made with olive oil and ricotta cheese. The olive oil will not only enrich the flavor of the muffins, but also make them healthier than using canola oil. Serve these muffins and everyone will want more, they will be begging for your recipe, and if you have a lemon tree they will want some lemons too. These muffins are bursting with lemon flavor and have a tender crumb to them; a perfect muffin in my opinion.
This recipe is so simple, just measure out your dry ingredients in one bowl and your wet ingredients in another bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and mix until combined, then spoon into your muffin cups.
I only had a few regular muffin papers so I made some traditional type muffins.
But wait, look what I found deep within the caverns of my cupboards, these tall muffin papers. They make such a beautiful presentation. I know I will be buying more of these because they are just too cute.
Bake the muffins for about 15 to 18 minutes, until they are brown on top. Insert a toothpick to test for doneness. Let the muffins cool and then drizzle with the lemon icing, then stand back and admire your lemony creation.
Along with my lemon trees, my backyard is in bloom with the yellow forsythia and white Bradford pear blooms. After I took this picture I realized that everything was grown in my back yard, makes me kind of proud. I had to make some lemonade to go with the muffins for our afternoon snack.
Just curious, if you have a lemon tree, how do you use all your lemons?
- Muffin Ingredients
- 1¾ cup AP flour
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ½ cup water
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ¾ cup ricotta cheese
- 1 tbls. grated lemon
- 2 tbls lemon juice
- 1 large egg, beaten
- Turbinado sugar
- Mixing up the muffins
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Prepare a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners
- In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients together.
- In another bowl mix the water, olive oil, ricotta, lemon rind,lemon juice and the beaten egg.
- Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir just until moistened.
- Spoon the batter into the muffin pans
- Sprinkle the tops of muffins with sugar
- Bake for 15 - 17 minutes
Thanks for visiting and I hope you try this delicious recipe.
Blessings ~ Jere’
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