Pucker up and get ready for the best-tasting, most tender lemon blueberry muffins you’ve ever had! These little morsels of goodness are unbelievably delicious, and make your breakfast seem just a little bit more special. They’re tender and sweet – almost like a cupcake. And the lemony glaze over the top was the perfect finish. If you love lemon, these are definitely for you.
4 out of 5 family members recommend these muffins…
My whole family loves these. Now, by ‘whole family’ I actually mean 4-out-of-5 (just like those dentists in the old Trident gum ads). There’s always always one dissenter, no matter if we’re talking salads or curry or roasted vegetables. It’s just not always the same person. In this case, my oldest son just couldn’t handle the tangy sweetness first thing in the morning. But, truth be told, he’s not really a morning person and wasn’t thrilled to be pulled out of bed for muffin-tasting (or the whole getting-ready-for-school business or standardized tests or basic conversation.) Sour puss 
2020 Update: Happy to report that #1 son, now 20 years old, loves these and is now a morning person. Just sharing this ray of hope for you parents of middle schoolers. They grow and change, sometimes in wonderful ways! You’re welcome 
A lemon blueberry muffin like no other
Where did this recipe come from? As is true in many baking adventures, there’s no point in re-inventing the wheel, when there are so many wheels out there already. In this case, I started with a loose idea for these muffins based on an Allrecipes recipe. I made a slew of changes in order to boost the nutrition, adding fiber and decreasing fat and sugar. While this was the first time I’ve made muffins with butter and yogurt, instead of oil and milk, it certainly won’t be my last! The resulting texture is amazing.
And, how psyched was I to use up more of that huge vat of plain yogurt we bought on a whim? As cute as she is, there are only so many times I’m going to let my daughter smear it all over my face for a “spa facial” a la Fancy Nancy .
Your shopping list
The list of ingredients is straight forward and not at all worrisome. It’s still a basic muffin recipe, like many of my muffin recipes. Here’s your go-list for successful lemon blueberry muffins – all are basic pantry or fridge items:
All purpose and whole wheat flours
Baking powder
Salt
Sugar
Lemon zest and juice (about 2 lemons)
Plain, lowfat yogurt (though full-fat or nonfat works as well)
Butter
Blueberries
The beautiful thing about a recipe for lemon blueberry muffins with yogurt is,you can use whatever yogurt you have handy! Full fat, low fat, no fat – the difference in texture is minor. However, if you use sweetened yogurt, you may want to decrease the sugar in the recipe to just 2/3 of a cup.
For the lemon, you’ll need about 1 1/2 fresh lemons in order to get enough juice and lemon zest for both the batter and the glaze. However, if all you have is bottled lemon juice, go ahead and make these without the zest. It’s a nice touch, but the lemon juice is strong enough that the zest won’t be missed that much.
I hope you enjoy this recipe – a kicked up blueberry muffin recipe with the pizzazz of lemon. Definitely easy enough to make anytime, but special enough for celebrating a birthday, jazzing up a brunch, or gifting to a friend.
Lemon Blueberry Muffins with Yogurt
Pucker up for the most tender lemon blueberry muffins ever. The lemony syrup glaze on top is a great finish.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 3/4 cup sugar cut to 2/3 if using sweetened yogurt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup plain lowfat yogurt
- 1/4 cup butter melted
- 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 cup blueberries fresh or frozen
Lemon Syrup
- 1/3 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare 12-cup muffin tin with a coating of spray oil.
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In a medium bowl, combine both kinds of flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a small separate bowl beat the egg, then stir in yogurt, butter, lemon peel, and lemon juice.
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Pour the wet ingredients all at once into the dry ingredients, and stir just until everything is moistened. *If using full-fat 5% yogurt, add 1-2 tablespoons of milk to ensure the mixture is wet enough and dry ingredients are completely moistened. Fold in blueberries carefully with spatula.
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Spoon batter into muffin pan, filling each opening about 2/3 full. Bake for 20-22 minutes. Muffins are done when tops spring back lightly when touched and the edges are golden.
Making Lemon Glaze & Adding to Muffins
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While muffins are in the oven, combine the glaze ingredients in small sauce pan, and cook over medium-low heat until sugar is dissolved. (Alternatively, add glaze ingredients to a microwave-safe measuring cup, and microwave on High for 30-45 seconds, then stir until sugar is dissolved).
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To prepare to glaze the muffins, put a large piece of wax paper or newspaper or plastic wrap on the counter, longer and wider than the muffin pan. Place a cooling rack on top of that. This will catch any glaze that runs off the sides of the pan as you're pouring it over the muffins.
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When the muffins are done baking, remove the pan from the oven and place on top of the cooling rack. Poke a few holes in the top of each muffin with a toothpick. Pour the glaze slowly and liberally over each muffin, using all the glaze. Allow the muffins to rest in the pan for another 10-15 minutes, then remove from the pan and place on the cooling rack to finish cooling.
Recipe Notes
Use whatever yogurt you have handy! Full fat, low fat, no fat – the difference in texture is minor. However, if you use sweetened yogurt, you may want to decrease the sugar in the recipe to just 2/3 of a cup.
For the lemon, you’ll need about 1 1/2 fresh lemons in order to get enough juice and lemon zest for both the batter and the glaze. However, if all you have is bottled lemon juice, and no fresh lemons on hand, go ahead and make these without the zest. It’s a nice touch, but the lemon juice is strong enough that you won’t miss the zest that much.
Delicious
Thanks, my dear 🙂
These look delicious!
Thanks, Jenn!
Made these muffins this morning and they are fabulous! 🙂
Hi Michelle! Thanks so much for stopping by to let me know! These are definitely a keeper. Making them again soon 🙂 Let me know if you try any other recipes. I love to hear feedback!
Oi! Thanks for pointing that out! Serves me rightforblogging before I’ve had breakfast. Add 3/4 blueberries, folded
In carefully once batter is mixed. Will edit recipe once I get back to my computer. Thank you!