Bakery Style Lemon & White Chocolate Muffins
What is it about bakery style muffins as opposed to homemade muffins that seems so much more appealing? Is it the exotic flavor combinations? The streusel crumb or crunchy sugar topping? The pretty bakery cups or over sized portions? Personally, I think it’s all of the above!
I decided to step up my game this morning and create a bakery-worthy breakfast muffin. The brightly colored papers match it’s lemony flavor and white chocolate chunks add a special touch of sweetness, not typical of our usual at-home recipes. I picked up a bag of Bob’s Red Mill turbinado sugar from the grocery store and could not resist trying it out for the first time! A special thank you to my husband‘s coworkers... the best taste-testers around! They are so willing (read: so brave) to try out my new recipes, and assured me this is a winner!
Ingredients:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- zest of 2 lemons
- 1 cup vanilla yogurt
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- juice from 1 lemon (approximately 2 Tablespoons)
- 2 eggs
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 4 ounces good quality white chocolate, coarsely chopped
- turbinado sugar (for topping)
Ensuring you use good-quality, fresh ingredients when you bake will make people take notice! We get our eggs from a friend's chickens weekly, and pick up produce from the public market or farm stand whenever it's available. Keep your dry goods in airtight containers, too.
I love chopping my own chocolate chunks from a larger baking brick... especially if it's a great brand (ie: Ghirardelli, Valrhona, etc.)
The tiny fingers of my mini chef, sprinkling a generous amount of turbinado sugar over the tops of each muffin.
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375° and line a standard muffin tin with papers. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the yogurt, sour cream, eggs, lemon juice and lemon zest. With a spatula, slowly mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Before fully incorporating, fold in the melted butter and chocolate chunks. Don’t overmix! Let the batter rest for five minutes before scooping it out. This will help the muffins rise a bit higher during baking process. Using a large ice cream scooper, portion out the dough into each of the baking cups. Sprinkle approximately 1/2 teaspoon of the turbinado sugar over the tops. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Let the muffins cool in the pan for five minutes before transferring them to a cooling rack.
Yield: 18-19 standard muffins
