Strawberry Lemonade Muffins

The Meyer lemon journey continues with Strawberry Lemonade Muffins. I decided to make them as minis simply because I love it when things come in little bites. Okay, I admit that the other reason is because I only have mini muffin pans. The pans, by the way, were a wonderful find. My sister and I had been helping to clean out my grandmother's closets and we found all these wonderful muffin tins. She let me have them and now I can bake muffins to my heart's content. Thanks grandma!

But, returning to these muffins, they were awesome. Each one was so fluffy and full of yummy sweetness from the strawberries. Although the lemon flavor was once again subtle, they were still so tasty that I couldn't stop popping them into my mouth. And, at about 40-50 calories per muffin, there's certainly no need to feel guilty about eating several at one time. It's definitely a breakfast that says, "Goodbye winter, and hello spring!"




Strawberry Lemonade Muffins (adapted from Baking Bites)

2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature
1 c. sugar
1 Tbsp. Meyer lemon zest (I would suggest doubling the zest)
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice
1 1/2 c. finely chopped fresh strawberries

Preheat oven to 500F. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper liners or grease 48 mini muffin cups.

Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingers until the sugar is moistened and fragrant. Cream the lemon sugar with the butter. Add the eggs and vanilla. Mix in the lemon juice.

Combine the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in the chopped strawberries quickly.

Spoon batter out into prepared muffin cups (if using mini muffin tins, it's about 1 Tbsp. batter per cup). The muffin cups should be fairly full.

Bake for 5 min. at 500F, then immediately lower the temperature to 350F. Continue baking until muffins test done about 5 min. (for mini muffins) and possibly 10 min. for regular sized muffins. Turn muffins out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 12 muffins or 48 mini muffins

This recipe is linked to:
Made it on Monday
Muffin Monday
Delicious Dishes
Made from Scratch Tuesday
Mangia Mondays
Full Plate Thursdays
Themed Bakers Sunday

Lemon Cranberry Bread

A while ago, I won a whole boxful of Meyer lemons. It was like a dream come true to have that much zest and juice just needing to be used. The only question was, "What to make first?" Since I also had some frozen cranberries left over from Thanksgiving, I decided to make this Meyer Lemon Cranberry Bread that I found on Baking Bites.

The only thing I noticed while making this is that the batter is extremely dense. I think I might add a tablespoon or two of lemon juice next time to thin it out just a bit more. But, other than that, it bakes up beautifully to yield some wonderful loaves of bread. I did use my 500F trick again. I'm not sure if it made a whole lot of difference though, so feel free to simply bake your bread at 350-375F if you want.

The resulting breads, alas, did not slice pretty, hence the reason why there's no picture of any cut slices. Of course, that does not affect my ability to eat and enjoy them in the slightest (and boy did I ever enjoy them). The cranberries are just perfect in this bread, adding yummy bursts of tartness in every bite. The lemon flavor was a little more subtle than I would have liked, so I might increase the lemon zest next time. But, regardless, these breads were just fantastic. I was planning on giving one of the mini loaves away (since I made two), but somehow I don't think that loaf will ever make it out my door. It just might find its way into my stomach instead. Oh well, guess that means I'll just have to make another batch. Ah, sacrifices, sacrifices.

Meyer Lemon Cranberry Bread (adapted from Baking Bites)

2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice
1 1/2 Tbsp. Meyer lemon zest
3 Tbsp. canola oiil
1 egg
1 1/4 c. fresh or frozen (unthawed cranberries)

Preheat oven to 500F. Lightly grease and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan or 4 mini loaf pans.

Rub the lemon zest into the sugar until it is moistened and fragrant. Combine the lemon sugar with the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

Combine the lemon juice, oil, and egg. Add to the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Fold in the cranberries, then pour the batter into the prepared pan(s).

Bake at 500F for 5 min., then immediately lower the heat to 350F. Bake for 25 min. more or until loaves test done. Cool on a rack for 15 min. Remove from pan and cool completely before slicing.

This recipe is linked to:
My Meatless Mondays
Just Another Meatless Monday
Midnight Maniac's Meatless Monday
Make it Sweet Monday
Make a Food "e" Friend Monday
Dr. Laura's Tasty Tuesday
Tempt My Tummy Tuesday
Delectable Tuesday
Tuesday Night Supper Club
Hearth and Soul
Tasty Tuesdays
Rook 17 - A Little Birdie Told Me
Whatcha Makin' Wednesdays
Let's Break Bread Together
Sweet Tooth Friday
What's Cookin' in the Kitchen
Themed Bakers Sunday

Sweets for a Saturday #10

Wow, I can't believe this is the 10th Sweets for a Saturday. I estimate that there must have been at least 2000 sweet treats linked up in the past weeks. That is a lot! But, there is always room for more. So, here's your Top 5 from last week (or rather Top 6 since there was a tie for 5th place) and, after that, you know what to do - bring on the sugar rush.

1. Knock-off Tagalongs - Sweet Streets



2. Cinnamon Roll Pancakes - A Little Bit Crunchy, A Little Bit Rock n' Roll



3. Macaroon Brownies - Kimmy's Kitchen



4. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls - Let's Get Cookin'



5. Quick Cinnamon Buns - This Chick Cooks



5. Nisu - Arctic Garden Studio


The Rules:

1. Please link up to the URL of your post, not the URL of your main blog. When it asks for "Name", type in the name of your treat.
   
2. Please leave a link back to this post in your post or Grab My Button.
   
3. Share your delicious sweets from this week. If you've made more than one during the week, feel free to link them all up.
   
4. Leave me a comment telling me that you've linked up.
   
5. Please visit at least two others and comment on their wonderful additions to this party.

<center><a href="http://sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ8s1iBIPyjRCu16ifFno6WFUkuhjUbgdTM35QWUi9P1Mxvt-v02Rt9MiOjnqP13K1dPvY99i4vB4ocS1763DUJKQiOUuGulW0IVv4_qV3r-HT0RHb7pGNKnWSsk3-2A2B_RRXuUWfc30/s1600/Plumpy+%25282%2529+button.jpg" /></a></center>