If you're looking for the best lemon muffins, this easy recipe delivers soft, moist muffins bursting with fresh citrus flavor and finished with a simple lemon glaze. These bakery-style lemon muffins come together quickly using pantry staples and only 10 minutes of prep time! They are perfect for breakfast, brunch, or a sweet snack. The tangy citrus glaze adds the perfect finishing touch to every fluffy bite.
I love anything lemon flavored, so when I was thinking of new muffin recipes to create, I knew I had to add a lemon muffin to the list. These muffins are soft, fluffy, and bursting with lemon flavor. I used both fresh lemon juice & zest, PLUS some lemon extract to make sure the lemon flavor really came across after they were baked.
The tangy lemon glaze on top of these muffins is also so good- it might be my favorite part to be honest! It's definitely not necessary since the muffins are super flavorful on their own, I tested this recipe with and without the glaze and enjoyed both (but I recommend the glaze for sure).
Simple Ingredients Only
I'm not one for recipes that include wild ingredients that you don't typically have on hand. These lemons muffins are exactly that, simple and no fuss!
- Greek Yogurt- I like using greek yogurt in my muffin recipes mostly because I tend to have it on hand more often than I do sour cream, but they are interchangeable here! Be sure to use full-fat versions of both those for the most added moisture to this recipe.
- Lemon Extract- this was something I actually added after a few recipe tests- I felt like the muffins needed an extra punch of flavor and lemon extract delivered just that! They can be made without lemon extract though.
- Lemon juice & zest- I always recommend using freshly squeezed lemon juice when possible! It makes all the difference in your baked goods flavor and texture. For this recipe you'll need only 2 lemons, because we will use the zest from 2, and then juice from the same 2.
Make sure to zest your lemons before you cut them & juice them- zesting first is so much easier!
Easy to Make
I love this recipe because it's easy to make and you don't need a mixer or anything fancy to make them!
- Whisk together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl & set aside for later.
- In a larger bowl, whisk all the wet ingredients together. Make sure the melted butter has had time to cool down a bit, about 10 minutes. Also using room temperature ingredients (eggs, milk, etc) help your batter mix together perfectly.
- Add dry ingredients to the wet, and use a rubber spatula to gently mix them together just until the streaks of flour are gone. You don't want to overmix!
- Pour into the muffin tin and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool, and make the lemon glaze. Drizzle it on top (or dunk your muffins), and enjoy!
When testing this recipe, I found that using cupcake liners gave me better shaped muffins. You can see above in the photo of the muffins on the cooling rack that they got a little wonky without liners. Both ways work, but the liners kept my muffins in a better muffin shape.
I also noticed when testing variations of this recipe, if you want your muffins to rise more, fill every other muffin space in your pan (so instead of baking 12 at a time, bake 6). This gives the muffins more surface area of heat while baking and allows them to really dome up in the oven.
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Soft Lemon Muffins with Citrus Glaze
Ingredients
Lemon Muffins
- 2 ½ cups all purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 2 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 cup whole milk at room temperature
- ⅓ cup full-fat greek yogurt at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice about 1 lemon
- 2 tablespoon lemon zest about 2 lemons
Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice (about 1 lemon)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well combined. Set aside.2 ½ cups all purpose flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, 2 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- In a separate bowl, whisk the melted butter, eggs, milk, greek yogurt, lemon extract, lemon juice, and lemon zest until well combined.½ cup unsalted butter, 2 large eggs, 1 cup whole milk, ⅓ cup full-fat greek yogurt, 1 teaspoon lemon extract, 2 tablespoon lemon zest, 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and use a rubber spatula to mix until just combined. Be careful not to overmix, the batter should be thick and lumpy.
- Pour the batter evenly into the prepared muffin pan, filling each ¾ of the way full.
- Bake the muffins for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a muffin comes out clean.
- Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before removing them. Place them on a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
- Make the lemon glaze by mixing together the powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Drizzle over the tops of the cooled muffins & enjoy!1 cup powdered sugar, 2 tablespoon lemon juice
Notes
- After they have completely cooled, these muffins can be stored in an airtight container for 1-3 days, or up to a week in the fridge.
- Freeze muffins for up to 3 months in a freezer safe container.
- Can be frozen with or without the glaze.
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