Soft and supremely moist lemon muffins topped with a crisp lemony streusel and generously drizzled in lemon icing!
Spring has officially sprung, which means I’m SO ready to dive into those bright, citrusy, and irresistibly juicy flavors. Bring on the fresh berries, sweet peaches, and refreshingly tangy citrus fruits!
Speaking of citrus, you’re gonna LOVE what I have in store for you this week. Not only is it the perfect treat for your next brunch, but it’s pretty much guaranteed to be a hit on Easter or Mother’s Day.
Why You’ll LOVE These Lemon CrumbMuffins
TRIPLE the Lemon: Each muffin is absolutely packed with lemon flavor. From the soft and fluffy lemon-infused muffin, to the golden buttery lemon zest streusel, to the lemon-kissed icing, you get THREE times the lemon lusciousness in every muffin.
Generously Topped: Thanks to my severe decision paralysis, I couldn’t decide between a streusel topping or a sweet icing, so I did both. I mean, why not??
Perfectly Fluffy Texture: Thanks to a few special ingredients, these muffins bake up extra soft and moist. They’re light and tender with not one dry crumb in sight.
Easy to Prepare: No mixer needed, very little wait time, and simple, straightforward instructions. The muffins can easily be prepared the morning of an event with no problem.
Tips for Extra SOFT Muffins
LOTS of Sour Cream: While most muffins rely on a lot of oil to achieve that moist crumb, I opted for extra sour cream for maximum softness. It adds a little tang, more flavor, and a nice richness that you can’t get with oil or even butter. As for texture, you end up with a muffin that’s velvety, delightfully moist, and not the least bit heavy.
Use Both Granulated and Brown Sugar: Even though lemon muffins typically only contain granulated (white) sugar, I prefer to incorporate some brown sugar into the batter as well. While granulated sugar does a great job of creating crisp edges and a lighter texture, brown sugar adds moisture and a deep, caramel-like flavor. Using both sugars provides a balanced texture and richer flavor, resulting in a perfect bakery-style muffin.
Don’t Overmix: One of the keys to soft, moist, and extra tall muffins is to avoid overmixing. Overmixing develops excess gluten, which not only prevents muffins from rising properly, but also results in dense and rubbery muffins. The best technique is to use a rubber spatula to gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. You’ll know when to stop stirring, when the flour is barely hydrated and the batter is still lumpy.
Tips for Extra TALL Muffins
Use Both Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Using both gives your muffins maximum lift and sky-high tops. Baking powder provides most of the rise while the baking soda reacts with the acidic ingredients (sour cream) to provide both lift and browning. Moreover, baking soda lends a nice caramelized and crusty exterior, while baking powder produces a lighter, cakey crumb.
Rest the Muffin Batter: Allowing the batter to rest at room temperature for an hour does a couple of things. First, it allows the flavors to develop and meld together, giving the muffins a richer taste. Secondly, resting allows the flour to fully absorb the moisture of the wet ingredients (eggs, butter, sour cream, etc.), resulting in a thicker batter. Having a thicker batter reduces spread during baking, giving the muffin tops a nicely rounded appearance. If you’re short on time, resting the batter for even 30 minutes will do wonders for your muffins!
Fill to the TOP: Another tip that’s crucial for creating those gorgeously risen tops is filling the muffin tin cavities with more batter. Most recipes instruct you to fill them up just 2/3 of the way, but if you want to achieve more height and volume, fill the cavities ALL the way to the top. Don’t worry about the batter spilling over because the next tip will prevent that from happening.
Bake at a High Initial Temperature: Bake your muffins at 425°F for the first 5 minutes, then drop the temperature to 375°F for the rest of the baking time. The high initial temperature helps the leavening agents (baking powder and baking soda) react quickly, giving the muffins a bit of a head start in rising. This creates that tall, domed top. After the initial rise, the temperature is decreased to 375ºF to allow the muffins to bake the rest of the way.
Other Tips Worth Mentioning
Don’t Skip the Almond Extract: While you only need less than a teaspoon for the whole recipe, this underrated ingredient is TOTALLY necessary. Almond extract really enhances the sweetness of the lemon and it creates that nostalgic bakery-style flavor.
Make Your Own Muffin Liners: This is mostly for looks, but I also believe that the muffins bake up taller in homemade paper liners. All you need is parchment paper and a pair of scissors. They’re also really not that difficult to make. Just look up “homemade muffin liners” or “homemade tulip muffin liners” on YouTube, and you’ll find several short tutorial videos.
Triple Lemon Muffins
Ingredients
Lemon Muffins:
- 2 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 ¼ cups sour cream
- ¼ cup milk
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
Lemon Streusel Topping:
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar, packed
- 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- Pinch salt
Lemon Icing:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon butter, melted
- 1 Tablespoon heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1-2 Tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
Make the Muffins:
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined; set aside.
- In another bowl, whisk both sugars and the eggs together until thickened and combined, about 45 seconds. Whisk in the melted butter and oil. Add the sour cream, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla, and almond extract, and continue whisking until combined.
- Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until almost combined. Batter should still be lumpy with a few spots of flour. Allow batter to rest for 1 hour at room temperature. In the meantime, make the streusel topping
Make the Streusel Topping:
- In a mixing bowl, use a fork to combine the butter, flour, both sugars, lemon zest, and salt. Once the mixture looks “sandy” in texture, use your hands to squeeze clumps together, forcing the mixture together. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Baking:
- Preheat oven to 425ºF. Spray a muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray, or line with paper liners.
- Spoon batter into prepared muffin pan, filling all the way to the top. Sprinkle/Press streusel on top of the batter.
- Bake at 425ºF for 5 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 375ºF and continue to bake for another 15-18 minutes, or until muffin tops are golden. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean.
Make the Icing:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, melted butter, cream, vanilla, and 1 Tablespoon of lemon juice until smooth. Add more lemon juice, a teaspoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached. Drizzle icing on top of muffins. Serve and enjoy!