Author Notes
I had a friend growing up whose mother used to tell her, whenever things were a little less than perfect, to "just think of lemons." As angsty, jerky teenagers we found this advice more amusing than helpful. But now, as a marginally functional grown up, I'm finding that it actually works. While I do love a good "I'm not leaving the house at all" snow day, winter as a whole bums me out. It gets dark at 3:30 in the afternoon, the car is frozen shut every other morning and my toes are numb and frozen pretty much always. When Meyer lemon season starts things feel a little bit (metaphorically) warmer.
So when life gives you a seemingly endless frozen tundra,
think of lemons.
And when life gives you lemons, make muffins. —Slow Club Cookery
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Ingredients
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1/2 cup
all purpose flour
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1 cup
whole wheat flour
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3/4 cup
cornmeal
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2/3 cup
organic sugar
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1 tablespoon
baking powder
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1 teaspoon
baking soda
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1/2 teaspoon
sea salt
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1 tablespoon
apple cider vinegar
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1.5 teaspoons
pure vanilla extract
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1 1/2 cups
halved fresh cranberries
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1/4 cup
raw walnut pieces (optional)
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2 teaspoons
grated meyer lemon zest
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1 cup
unsweetened non-dairy milk
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1/4 cup
meyer lemon juice
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1/4 cup
canola or other neutral oil
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2 teaspoons
extra sugar for dusting
Directions
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Line muffin tin with paper liners.
Measure out 1 1/2c of cranberries, cut each in half, toss in a small bowl, set aside.
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In a medium mixing bowl combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt
and 1/3c of the sugar, whisk to combine.
Add the remaining 1/3c of sugar and 2 tbsp of the dry flour mix to the cranberries and toss gently until cranberries are well coated.
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Stir in 1 1/2tsp of the lemon zest.Add non-dairy milk, lemon juice, vinegar, oil and vanilla extract to flour mix.
Stir until well combined.
Add in walnut pieces.
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GENTLY fold cranberries into wet mix.
If using fresh, be more aggressive, but the frozen will bleed.
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Fill muffin liners 2/3 full and shake pan gently to distribute.
Sprinkle the tops of each muffin with a pinch of sugar and reserved 1/2tsp lemon zest.
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Bake for 12-15 minutes, until tops are light golden brown and
tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
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