These Lemon Thyme Muffins are fluffy, buttery, and bursting with fresh flavors. Spring flavors are layered in this recipe with the addition of lemon zest and fresh thyme to the batter and a tart lemon-juice glaze.
Lemon Thyme muffins are an “any time of day” recipe. They are a delicious start to a casual spring morning, but they also make a great addition to an elegant brunch spread, or as an afternoon treat with a cup of tea. They are tender, buttery, and full of delicious citrus and herb flavors.
What Will I Need to Make Lemon Thyme Muffins
- Butter
- Sugar
- Egg
- Buttermilk
- Sour cream
- Flour
- Thyme
- Lemon zest
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Vanilla extract (I love this one!)
- Almond extract (this Rodelle organic almond extract is my favorite!)
Tip: If you can, I highly recommend using fresh thyme. If you must used dried thyme, reduce the amount to 2 teaspoons and crush it between your fingers before adding it to the batter.
How to Make Lemon Thyme Muffins
To make this moist lemon muffin recipe:
- Whisk: Whisk dry ingredients along with the lemon zest and thyme.
- MIX: Mix the all of the wet ingredients together.
- Combine: Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until JUST combined.
- Bake: Fill muffin cups and bake.
- Glaze: Whisk together glaze and drizzle over cooled muffins.
What is the The Muffin Method?
There are three main methods that are typically used to make quick bread batters - muffin method, creaming method, and the biscuit method. This Lemon Thyme Muffin recipe uses the muffin method.
The muffin method is fast and easy. Here’s how it’s done:
- Whisk together the dry ingredients
- Combine all liquid ingredients, including the melted butter
- Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and mix just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not try to get a smooth batter!
- Scoop the batter into your prepared muffin pan and bake immediately.
How to Make Bakery Style Muffins at Home
There are a few key tips that are important to follow when making quick breads. Here are my pro-tips for making “bakery style” muffins that are tender and moist.
- The key to a tender muffin texture is all in the gluten development. Very little gluten development is desirable when making muffins. Mix muffin batter as little as possible - only until the dry ingredients are moistened (lumps are ok here!). An over-mixed muffin batter will result in a tough dry texture as well as large holes inside the muffins called tunneling.
- To get uniform muffins, use a large scoop to portion batter into your prepared muffin tin. Be careful not to stir the batter while scooping!
- Make sure your oven is preheated. Baking your muffins in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F is the secret to getting those perfectly domed tops!
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More Muffin Recipes You'll Love!
Bakery Style Triple Chocolate Muffins - delicious, decadent, and loaded with chocolate!
Cherry Almond Muffins - delicious with a cup of coffee!
Thermomix Blueberry Flax Muffins - moist, fluffy, and wholesome, with crispy tops.
If you make this recipe, take a photo and tag #bakedambrosia on Instagram and Facebook so that I can see your creations and feature them on Instagram! To stay up to date with the latest recipes, follow Baked Ambrosia on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube. ♡
Lemon Thyme Muffins
Ingredients
- ½ cup 113 g butter, melted and slightly cooled
- ½ cup 120 ml buttermilk
- ½ cup 80 g sour cream
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract
- 1 ¾ cup 280 g all purpose flour
- ¾ cup 170 g sugar
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 tbsp minced fresh thyme or 2 tsp dried thyme
Lemon Thyme Glaze
- ½ cup 130 g confectioner's sugar
- ½ tsp minced fresh thyme
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with baking liners and set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, buttermilk, sour cream, egg, vanilla, and almond extracts.
- Whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, lemon zest, and thyme in a large mixing bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and mix using a rubber spatula just until all of the flour is moistened. The batter will be lumpy - do not over-mix!
- Use a large scoop to fill prepared muffin pan with about ¼ cup batter. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the glaze, whisk confectioner's sugar, thyme, and lemon juice until smooth. Drizzle over cooled muffins.
Nutrition
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