Blueberry–Preserved Lemon Muffins
Beth Lee and Sarene Wallace created these muffins to serve for breakfast alongside a bowl of fresh fruit and yogurt. Toast a halved muffin and spread it with butter, if you like.
Ingredients
Blueberry–Preserved Lemon Muffins
- ⅔ cup sugar
- 1½ tablespoons lime zest
- 6 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup Sweet Preserved Lemon Purée (recipe below)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 cups flour
- ½ cup milk
- 1½ cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
- ¼ cup crystalized sugar (optional)
Sweet Preserved Lemon Purée
- ½ cup preserved lemon rind and brine (discard flesh)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon olive oil
- ½–1 teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
For the Muffins
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly coat cups of a 12-cup muffin tin with cooking oil spray (or use muff in cup liners or silicone cups).
- Add lime zest and sugar to a small bowl. With your fingers, rub zest into sugar to infuse sugar with lime flavor. In a large bowl, vigorously stir butter and lime zest sugar with a wooden spoon until the mixture is well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, stirring after each until eggs are thoroughly incorporated. Add lemon purée and stir to combine.
- Combine baking powder and flour in a small bowl. Alternate adding flour mixture and milk to the butter-sugar mixture, stirring aft er each addition until nearly combined.
- Fold in blueberries until combined. Scoop ⅓ cup of batter into each muffin cup (or use an ice cream scoop). Sprinkle each muff in with 1 teaspoon of crystallized sugar, if using.
- Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the edges of muffins are browned and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into muffin. (Start checking the muffins at 25 minutes.)
For the Lemon Purée
- This purée is the perfect addition to desserts when you want a concentrated lemon flavor without the tartness of lemon juice. Adjust the flavor by adding more lemon juice or brine—it’s up to you.
- Makes approximately ½ cup
- Add lemon rind and brine to bowl of a small food processor and pulse a few times to break down rind. Add remaining ingredients and pulse to purée. Mixture can be left slightly chunky or puréed until smooth.
- Store purée in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
- Cool on a baking rack for 10 minutes. Remove muffins and let cool completely.
- Store in an airtight container or freeze for longer storage.
