Can I be extra lame and talk about the weather for a moment? It. Is. SPECTACULAR.
Sorry to yell, but seriously. I wore a short-sleeve shirt yesterday without a jacket. It was windier than any day I can remember in my life, but it was a very spring-y wind, so it was cool. Except it was warm. Okay I’m done.
But honestly, I forgot how much of an effect the weather can have on my mood.
Real talk: this winter has been kind of rough mental-health wise. I’ve set up my college timeline so that this whole year is pretty intense academically in order to (hopefully) make after this year more enjoyable. So, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, but it’s still about 16 weeks away. Haha. This hasn’t even been a very wintry winter, but the combination of lots of gray days, early sunsets, a stressful schedule, and midterms has still put me in kind of a funk lately.
Yesterday, I pretty much got out of that funk. At least for now. After my sosc class, I decided to go on the long(ish), out-of-the-way trip to the bank I’ve been putting off for about a week. Why have I been putting it off? Well…
- Because I’ve been trying to study in my spare time.
- Because it wasn’t urgent. It probably could wait another month. No biggie.
- Because it’s not always fun to take a 20-minute walk when it’s cold enough to make your hands feel like they’re going to fall off.
But yesterday, it was fun to walk there because it was so pretty! I smiled the whole way there. And the whole way back. And then I kept on smiling when I got back to the apartment. It was glorious.
I mean, once I got back inside about half the smiles were due to Lemon Blueberry Muffins, but still.
I whipped these up before class one morning and they turned out wonderfully. These Lemon Blueberry Muffins are cakey and full of juicy blueberries. They’re sweet, yes, but they have a touch of tang from the lemon. They’re bright and cheery and I’m pretty sure they’re what sunshine would taste like if that were a thing. I should probably make these to eat all winter so I can feel extra sunshine-y when there’s not much sunshine. Fortunately, it looks like winter is almost over this year. So, next year. Yep, definitely next year.
So if you could use a little more sunshine in your life (couldn’t we all?), make these.
- 4.5 T. unsalted butter, melted
- 1 5.3-oz. container Greek yogurt
- 2 T. milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg white
- 2 t. vanilla extract
- Juice of 1 lemon (3-4 T.)
- Zest of 2 lemons (1-2 T.)
- 1/2 c. granulated sugar
- 1.5 c. whole wheat pastry or all-purpose flour
- 1.5 t. baking powder
- 1/4 t. baking soda
- 1/4 t. salt
- 1/4 t. nutmeg
- 1.25 c. fresh blueberries
- Preheat oven to 425°F and grease a muffin tin. I got 13 same-size muffins out of this, so I greased an extra muffin cup, but you could probably just add a touch more batter to each if you want to avoid this.
- In a large bowl, mix together the melted butter, Greek yogurt, milk, egg, egg white, vanilla, and lemon juice.
- In a small bowl, combine the lemon zest and granulated sugar. You're going after "lemon sugar" here, so use your fingers to really mix it all together. A little sugar on your fingers never hurt anybody!
- Add your lemon sugar to the wet ingredients and mix until combined.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg to the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Try not to overmix!
- Gently fold in about a cup of your fresh blueberries.
- Scoop the batter into prepared muffin tins. I usually use a 1/4 c. measure to make sure they were pretty even, but if you want to eyeball it, it doesn't hurt anything! Top each with a few of the remaining blueberries.
- Bake at 425° for 5 minutes, then turn the oven down to 350° (and leave the muffins in) for another 8-10 minutes. They're done when the edges are just starting to brown and a tester comes out clean of batter.
- Allow to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then remove a cooling rack (or eat while still warm!).
- I used nonfat plain Greek yogurt, but if you want to intensify either the lemon or the blueberry, those would be great. I'm also interested in a coconut version, so that might be tasty, too. Let me know if you try any of these!
- I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk because that's what I typically have on hand, but other dairy and nondairy milks will work.
Pin for later!
Do you associate flavors with seasons? Absolutely. Lemon is a very spring/summer flavor for me!
What’s your favorite season?
P.S. Apparently, it’s National Muffin Day, so there’s really no excuse not to make these. Or these. Or these.
Feelin good! After a cold horrid week, it is truly in the 50s right now and SUNNY!!! All hail Mr. Sun!!! Although still not good enough (getting there) but I need Summer!!!!
And lemon is SOOO “warm weather” flavor! i.e. all the lemon poppy seed goodies!
I love lemon poppyseed!
Yum lemon blueberry is delicious! I think I associate cinnamon with winter but that doesn’t stop me from using it all year 🙂 I’d say watermelon is a summer flavor and strawberries is a spring fruit for me. Apples and peaches make me think of fall. Do you put any jam or butter on these or as they good as is?
They’re good warmed up with some butter, but I bet they’d be delicious with some jam, too! I’m thinking blueberry or raspberry would be especially tasty. That said, I also love just snacking on them plain. They’re nice and flavorful! 🙂
Yum! I love your idea of using coconut yogurt instead. I typically use plain but I think a flavored yogurt may give it a little extra flavor.
That was my thought, too! Thanks, Kellen 😀
Fall is my favorite. I fix pancakes and sausage for dinner only in the winter time. I also do ham and bean soup occasionally in the winter.
Lots of salads in the summer. Possibly stir fries also in the summer–lots of nice fresh veggies available.
Those muffins look especially yummy as I sip on my coffee.
I like salads especially in the summer, too! Thanks, Grandma ❤️
Weather TOTALLY affects my life, in the worst way possible. If I’m cold or surrounded by murkiness, that’s exactly how I feel, and I find myself in a funk. I’m so so so glad you had the opportunity to enjoy that walk out in the sunshine. I need sunshine every day in my life otherwise I’ll never smile. So I completely recognize the joy and importance of that walk. 🙂
And to the more important point of this post, these muffins look delicious! Pinning them now! 🙂
I need some sunshine in my life, too 🙂 Thanks so much, Julia!
Blueberry and lemon just scream Spring to me, so you’re more than welcome to scream about this beautiful weather much of the country has been having, too!
Haha I like that way of looking at it!
These muffins look delicious! Can’t go wrong with blueberry and lemon!
Thanks, Rachel! I certainly agree 🙂
Wow, these are so beautiful. I do have blueberries and lemon! If I don’t forget, I need to make these tomorrow. O_O With all my blogger friends, we are never out of baked goods.
I’d love to know if you try them, Emily! And I can so relate to the excess of baked goods “problem”. I feel like with the plethora of delicious recipes out there, I could do nothing but bake and never be bored!
These look absolutely perfect! I loveee blueberry muffins whilst Jesse loves anything lemon flavoured so they’re the perfect compromise 😉
Haha something to keep you both happy 😉