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Meyer Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins with Lemony-Sugar Glaze

Posted By Cristina for Teenie Cakes On In Breads & Quick Breads,Desserts,Muffins,winter | Comments Disabled

Meyer Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins with Lemony-Sugar Glaze

Meyer Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins with Lemony-Sugar Glaze
Makes 6 muffins
Ingredients
  • 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
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  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • ½ cup shredded coconut, lightly toasted (optional – see note)
  • 4-ounces low-fat cream cheese cut in ¼-inch cubes, cold (see note)
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  • 1 large egg
  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • ½ cup 2% lowfat milk
  • Meyer lemon zest from 1 medium-sized lemon (see note)
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice
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  • Lemony-Sugar Glaze
  • 2 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
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  • Extra lemon zest to garnish muffin tops before serving (optional)
Method
  1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 6 muffin cups with paper liners and lightly spray non-stick cooking spray to the top of the muffin pan.
  2. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl. Add sugar, stir. Add cream cheese cubes and “gently” coat well in flour mixture.
  3. In a separate large bowl, combine large egg, canola oil, milk, lemon juice and zest. Add dry mixture to the moist ingredients. Stir until just combined. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins.
  4. Drop oven temperature to 350°F and bake for 25 minutes, rotating muffin pan half-way through baking time. Test doneness by inserting a wooden skewer down the middle of the tallest muffin crown and it comes out clean.
  5. Remove muffins from oven and transfer each muffin to a wire cooling rack. Combine 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 2 tablespoons sugar. Brush glaze on hot muffins. Let cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. © Images & content: Cristina A-Moore for TeenieCakes.com.
Teenie Notes
  • This may seem unconventional, but preheat the oven to 375°F. When you’re ready to bake the muffins, drop the temp to 350°F and immediately place the muffin pan in the oven.
  • To make handling the cream cheese easier, place the 4-ounces of cream cheese in the freezer for 10 minutes to firm it up before cutting into 1/4-inch cubes. Don’t leave it in the freezer much longer than that because you don’t want the cream cheese to crumble!
  • When adding the cream cheese bits to the dry ingredients, gently coat and take care to not over mix. You don’t want to break down the cubes of cream cheese.
  • The coconut addition to the muffins is optional, but a nice addition if you enjoy coconut (especially lemon with coconut!).
  • Use all the zest from 1 medium-sized Meyer lemon. If your Meyers are smallish, use the zest from the smaller lemons. Use your judgement…the zest is what really gives it that lemony zing.
  • Rotate the muffin pan half-way through baking time to get a more even baking and golden color to the muffin crowns.
  • Check your baking time after 25 minutes to test for doneness. You don’t want to overbake these cake-like muffins.
  • Coconut option: Lightly toast the coconut in your oven that’s preheating for roughly 6-8 minutes. You don’t want to make it crispy or browned, just toast it enough to bring the flavor to the forefront. Let it cool before tossing into the dry ingredients.
  • If you opt to not use paper liners for your muffins, brush the lemon-sugar glaze on the sides of the hot muffins, as well.