Julie Clark
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Lemon Crumb Muffins
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These Lemon Crumb Muffins are simple to make. They’re moist, full of lemon flavor and have an amazing crumb topping!
Lemon Crumb Muffins
How is it that summers always go so fast? We had a busy month of June. All through June I thought, “If I can just make it until July, things will slow down.” July is quickly coming to an end and I look back at that thought and laugh. July has been busier than June!
August starts up all of the back-to-school craziness….soccer, piano, ballet, cross-country. I’m going to be driving the kids everywhere the next few months and hopefully not driving myself crazy.
It’s all good stuff, though, and we’ll fit everything in, just as we always do.
These Lemon Crumb Muffins make me stop and smile.
What makes a good muffin for us? It has to be moist, full of flavor and have an amazing crumb topping. This muffin fits all three of those criteria. Although we are huge fans of lemon flavor, our absolute favorite part of this muffin is the crumb topping. It’s simply flour, sugar and butter, but it fits perfectly on top of this simple muffin and gives it that extra pop of sugary-goodness. The muffin itself has a very simple flavor. Don’t leave off the streusel topping. In fact, double it if you’d like!
A reminder when making any quick bread or muffin is not to overmix the batter. If you overmix the batter, your muffins will be tougher and more compact. Mix the batter just until the wet and dry ingredients are combined. There may still be a few lumps or a tiny bit of flour, and you may be tempted to keep mixing. Don’t worry, though. Those lumps and that little bit of flour will all bake together so flawlessly! Although these muffins are moist, they are thick and a “heavier” muffin than some other types of “cakey” muffins.
Take some time and make these sweet little muffins. I’m pretty sure they’ll make you smile, too.
**Due to feedback from some readers stating this recipe was dry, we test this recipe several more times. The main changes I made were to use half & half instead of milk, and I upped the sugar to ½ a cup. I also reduced the baking time 4 minutes. I’ve found that once you reduce the baking temperature to 375 degrees, they only take 8 minutes to bake in my oven. Overbaking them will cause them to be dry.
Lemon Crumb Muffins
These Lemon Crumb Muffins are simple to make. They're moist, full of lemon flavor and have an amazing crumb topping!
Servings 12
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 13 minutes
Total Time 28 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup half and half cream
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
Topping:
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons butter softened, but not melted
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a medium size bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, combine the oil, lemon, sugar, egg, milk and lemon zest. Mix well. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Do not overmix! Divide the batter among 12 muffin cups that have been lined with a cupcake liner.
- In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the topping until you have coarse crumbs.
- Sprinkle 1 tablespoon streusel topping on the top of each muffin.
- Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425 degrees, then, without opening the oven, lower the oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake for an additional 8 minutes. A toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin should come out clean.
- Makes 12 muffins.
Nutrition
Calories: 239kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 129mg | Potassium: 155mg | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 150IU | Vitamin C: 1.5mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 1.2mg
Can we use lime instead of lemon?
I made this a while back for breakfast and it was AMAZING! I didn’t make streusel since it would be too sweet. But the muffin was perfectly moist and lemony. I replaced the extract with juice and tossed to sugar on top and dipped it into a lemon cream cheese icing and it was heaven! Making it again tomorrow!
I added 1/2 C sour cream , 2 Tbsp poppy seeds and 1 tsp almond flavoring and they are outstanding! I also doubled the streusel so that I didn’t have to stretch it- You can leave it milk rather than half n half if you add sour cream. The texture is light and airy.
Any substitutes for half and half???