Sweet & Tangy

Today one of my favorite people came over to spend a few hours.  Cassidy loves books and baking.  It's no wonder we get along.  Who cares if she is 10 and I am..... well not 10.  We had a wonderful time gathering ingredients, talking about Trixie Belden, singing along with whatever popped up on the iPod and putting together a brand new recipe.  We dove right into the creation of this recipe and we knew this was going to be good when we started getting wiffs of the batter as it mixed and then as it baked.  It's a beautiful sunny day outside and these little gems suit the mood just right.  Raspberry mixed in a buttery batter and topped with a tangy lemon glaze and sugared lemon zest... my, my, my.

Enjoy, Cassidy and I certianly did!

Lemon Glazed Raspberry Muffins

Ingredients:

Muffins:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 cup sugar

1 ½ tsp lemon zest

¼ cup unsalted butter (melted)

1 cup sour cream

1 ½ cup raspberries

Glaze:

¼ cup granulated sugar

½ cup fresh lemon juice

¼ cup granulated sugar (no this is not a mistake - there are 2 steps that each require the sugar)

1 tsp lemon zest

Method:

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease your muffin pan or line with muffin cups
• If using fresh raspberries rinse and let dry.  If frozen remove from freezer and place in measuring cup or bowl.
• Mix the flour, baking powder and salt together thoroughly.
• Using a stand mixer or large bowl, combine the egg and 1 cup of sugar.  It should look thick and creamy.  Add the 1 ½ tsp lemon zest and the melted butter and combine.  The add the sour cream.  Stir until ingredients are just combined - do not over mix.
• Stir the flour mixture into the egg/butter mixture using a wooden spoon or spatula.  Again, do not over mix.  Stop just before the mixture is completely combined.
• Once the raspberries are dry, sprinkle a tablespoon of flour over the raspberries and toss to coat.  
• Gently fold the raspberries into the batter.
• Spoon batter into the muffin tin.  About 3 tablespoons per muffin will do.
• Bake for 25 minutes - until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Let set for about 10 minutes then transfer to wire rack.
• While the muffins are cooking you can prepare the glaze.  Combine ¼ cup sugar with the ½ cup fresh lemon juice.  Turn the heat to medium and stir to combine.  Let it simmer until the sugar dissolves and the mixture becomes syrupy.  It takes about 15 minutes.
• Combine ¼ cup sugar with the 1 tsp. lemon zest.
• Brush the top of each muffin with the lemon glaze.  Dip the tops of the muffins into the sugar-zest mixture.  

Cassidy dipping muffin tops into the sugared zest.

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