Lemon Raspberry Muffins

These lemon raspberry muffins are super easy to make, plus they taste like Spring! I don’t normally go for iced muffins, but the lemon icing here is super tart and fresh and it pulls everything together.

Muffins are one of the easiest things to bake at home and then you can make any flavor you’d like. These ones have fresh raspberries throughout, lemon zest, and a tangy lemon icing to pull it all together. You can mix everything together by hand and it comes together quickly- let’s get to it!

How to Make Lemon Raspberry Muffins

This recipe uses some pretty simple ingredients plus fresh lemons and raspberries. I like to always keep buttermilk on hand because it’s the perfect add in for muffins, cakes, and biscuits, and we’re using it in this recipe. Start by stirring together the dry mixture, which includes flour, sugar, lemon zest, baking powder, and salt.

In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. For this recipe, that includes buttermilk, vanilla extract, melted butter, vegetable oil, sour cream, and eggs. Using a combination of melted butter and oil helps develop a really great flavor and texture for the muffins.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, and gently stir until the mixture starts to come together but you still have pockets of flour showing. That’s when you want to toss in the fresh raspberries and stir until everything is well combined. I like to mash up the raspberries gently as I stir so you get bits of raspberry in every bite.

From here, the batter needs a quick rest. I like to just cover the bowl with plastic or a towel and let it sit on the counter while the oven preheats. We’re baking these muffins at a pretty high heat to start, and then lowering the temp to finish baking, which allows the muffins to puff up and brown beautifully.

Once the batter has rested, you can scoop it into your lined muffin tin. The muffin batter will fill up the cups almost all the way.

While the muffins bake, you can make the simple icing, which is just a mixture of lemon juice, powdered sugar, and a pinch of salt. The muffins get a dip in the icing before you serve them- the icing will set as it cools, but it’s also delightful warm. Enjoy!

Tips & Tricks for Lemon Raspberry Muffins

Here are my tips to help along the way when you’re making these fluffy muffins!

• Do I have to use fresh lemons and raspberries? I find that this recipe tastes best with fresh lemons that you can zest and juice. You can swap in frozen raspberries, but I recommend thawing them and drying them off a bit before stirring into the batter.
• Do I need to use buttermilk? You can swap in a mixture of milk with 1 tsp. of white vinegar stirred in for buttermilk here, but the additional acid helps create a soft texture so I recommend using buttermilk!
• Why does this recipe use butter and oil? I like to use a mixture of both because butter gives you a great flavor, while oil adds some extra moisture to the batter.
• Don’t skip the rest time for the batter. This helps activate the baking powder and gives the muffins an extra boost with the rise as they bake. It’s worth the wait!
• How do I know when the muffins are finished baking? The muffins should be golden brown on the tops, and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin should come out with just a few dry crumbs clinging to it.
• Do I have to use the icing? No, you can skip the icing, however I think it really pulls these muffins together. The lemon flavor really comes out here and it’s worth it.
• I’m at about 5,000 ft. above sea level and I find that most people who live between 3,000-7,000 ft. do not need to make any adjustments to my recipes.

Enjoy!

5 from 1 vote

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Lemon Raspberry Muffins

Servings 12 muffins

Ingredients

For the muffins:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 tbs. lemon zest
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 2 tbs. vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 1 pint fresh raspberries

For the icing:

• 2-3 tbs. fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/8 tsp. salt

Instructions

For the muffins:

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. In a small bowl, stir together the buttermilk, vanilla extract, melted butter, oil, sour cream, and the eggs. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry.
2. Stir together for just a couple of turns. While there are still pockets of dry flour in the mixture, toss in your raspberries. Continue to stir together until no dry pockets remain, but do not over-mix.
3. Cover your bowl and let the batter rest on your counter for 30 minutes. This will help everything come together before baking, and it also helps to ensure you get high-domed muffins.
4. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Spray your baking pan with baking spray- you want the spray to coat the top of the pan mostly to prevent overhang from sticking. Line with paper cups.
5. Once your batter has rested for a full 30 minutes, divide the batter evenly between your 12 muffin cups. The cups should be pretty full at this point. Optionally sprinkle the tops of each muffin with the additional sugar before baking.
6. Bake for 7 minutes and then rotate the pan 180 degrees and lower the heat to 350 degrees. Bake for an additional 5-8 minutes, or until the muffins are puffed, lightly golden brown, and a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs on it. Once removed from the oven, use a butter knife to ensure that any overhanging parts don’t stick to the pan. Cool the muffins in the pan for 10-15 minutes before icing and enjoying!

For the icing:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tbs lemon juice, the powdered sugar, and salt until you have a smooth mixture. It should be thick but drizzle-able. If it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar 2 tablespoons at a time until you reach the right consistency. If it’s too thick, add in a little bit of lemon juice to thin it out.
2. Once the muffins have cooled slightly, you can dip the muffins into the icing or spoon the icing on top. The icing will set as it cools. Enjoy!

Dough-Eyed

Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!