Since Valentine’s Day falls on Saturday this year, why not make the someone or “someones” you love a special breakfast featuring these Lemonlicious Raspberry Muffins? Lemons abound in Italy during this season, so I decided to forgo the traditional chocolate recipes and opt for a recipe with sunny lemons and some red raspberries for appropriate color. I think you’ll find the flavors of lemon and raspberry pair quite well in these muffins and make a great complement to a nice cup of tea. They are wonderfully tart, and the lemon brightens the flavor of the raspberries. Those who don’t like things overly sweet will love this recipe!
It’s as easy as this:
Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).
In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt).
In a separate bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until it is nice and fluffy. Add the egg and the zest of one lemon. (I prefer the natural flavor of zest to extract.)
You will find the texture to be a bit curdled-looking.
Measure out a cup and a half of fresh or frozen raspberries. Put them in a bag with about a tablespoon or two of flour. Close the top and shake them around a bit. This process will keep the color from bleeding too much into the batter. Set the raspberries aside or put the bag in the freezer until you are ready to use them.
Make a well in the dry ingredients. In the center, pour in the milk and the mixture of butter, sugar, egg, and zest. Stir a bit with a spoon or spatula, but DO NOT COMPLETELY COMBINE, or it will be to hard to stir in the raspberries. Fold in the raspberries and complete the mixing process, being sure not to overmix.
Divide the dough into well-prepared muffin tins using a cookie or ice cream scoop. I used a non-stick spray that has flour in it and is made specifically for baking. Preparing the pan well is important because the topping can otherwise make these muffins difficult to remove from the pan.
Prepare the topping: Place the sugar, colored sugar (if using), and butter in a bowl. Use a pastry blender or fork to combine. (You can also do this with a food processor, but I did it by hand because it’s a small amount.)
Use a spoon to sprinkle the topping over the dough in the muffin tins.
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs.
Allow to cool in the muffin tins for 5 minutes. Remove the muffins from the tin and place on a cooling rack — or you can put them on a plate for serving. They are best warm but can also be eaten at room temperature if you choose to prepare them ahead of time.
Lemonlicious Raspberry Muffins
Ingredients:
- 2 1/3 cups flour (11.5 oz. )
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 4 tsp. baking powder
- 1/3 cup sugar (2.25 oz.)
- 1/4 cup (2 oz.) softened butter
- 1 egg
- zest of lemon (1-2 teaspoons)
- 1 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries (not in sugar syrup)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
Place flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and stir with a whisk. In separate bowl, cream butter with sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and lemon zest (mixture may look a little lumpy or curdled).
Make a well in the dry ingredients. Pour the sugar mixture and milk into the center. Using a spoon or spatula, begin to gently stir together. Before completely mixed, stir in the raspberries.* Be sure not to overmix.
Topping:
- 1/3 c. flour (1.5 oz.)
- 1/2 c. sugar (3.5 oz.) or (1/3 cup sugar plus 3 T. coarse red decorator sugar)
- 1/4 c. (2 oz.) softened butter
Use a pastry blender or fork to blend together the above ingredients. The mixture should be slightly coarse. (This step can also be done in a food processor by pulsing the ingredients.) Set aside.
Use a cookie or ice cream scoop to place the dough into 18 well-greased muffin cups. (I use the special baking spray with flour for easiest release.) Spoon some topping over each muffin.
Bake in a 375°F (190°C) oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Remove the pans from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. Move the muffins from the tin to a rack or directly to a plate for serving.
*Before mixing into the other ingredients, put raspberries in a bowl or bag with one to two tablespoons of flour. Toss to coat. (This will keep the berries from turning the batter completely pink.) If you are using frozen berries, you can put the flour-coated berries back in the freezer for a little while until you are ready to mix them into the batter.
If you happen to have any left over, you can put them in the freezer to use for another breakfast or for a treat with coffee or tea. 
Joy Van Eaton
Home Was Not Built in a Day 