Lemon Meringue Muffins

The bright notes of lemon are like sunshine on a summer day. Warm and inviting, layered with the vibrant flavor of citrus through and through, fluffed with a cloud of meringue! It’s a delightful treat, perfect for any day of the year!

This muffin is bold on lemon flavors, delivering a delightful bite compliments of a vintage recipe with additional touches of citrus in triplicate, starting with fresh lemon juice and lemon zest.

Butter and sugar create the base with egg yolks added for richness. Flour, baking powder and a touch of kosher salt are stirred into the mix along with fresh lemon juice, pure vanilla extract, lemon zest and pure lemon extract.

Then large mounds of egg whites are gently folded into this luscious, lemony batter.

Baked then drizzled with a lemon glaze to embolden those bright tones!

Some notes on older recipes. Quantities might vary, because as years have passed the size of portions have increased. Older muffin tins were smaller than their modern counterparts. So you might need to adjust accordingly. You’ll find many older cookbooks also have missing details such as how long to bake, temperature for baking and size of pan to use. It can be daunting and sometimes frustrating, but most often the results are so worth it.

Hidden in these treasured vintage books you’re sure to find old-fashioned goodness and a comforting bite.

Lemon Meringue Muffins

For the muffins:

1 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

4 extra-large eggs, separated

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, about 3 large lemons

1 tablespoon lemon zest, about 3 to 4 large lemons

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 teaspoon pure lemon extract or lemon paste

For the glaze:

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

3 to 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, about 1 lemon

To make the muffins:

Cream the butter and the sugar in a large mixing bowl on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.

Lightly whisk the egg yolks, and then add them to the butter and sugar mixture. Beat together on medium speed about 1 minute until well combined.

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and kosher salt.

Add the flour mixture alternately with the lemon juice, blending in on low speed, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat just until the ingredients are blended together.

Stir in the lemon zest, vanilla and lemon extract using low speed.

Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl on medium speed until stiff peaks form, about 1 to 2 minutes. Using a spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the batter.

Line 20 muffin cups with parchment liners. Using a large ice cream scoop fill the cups about ¾ full.

Bake the muffins in a 375-degree oven for 22 to 24 minutes or until they test done with a toothpick in the center. The muffins will still be light in color on top.

Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 5 minutes then finish cooling on a wire rack.

To make the glaze:

Whisk together the powdered sugar with 3 tablespoons of the remaining lemon juice. Add all the lemon juice if you want a thinner glaze.

Drizzle the glaze over the tops of the cooled muffins.

Makes 20 lemon muffins.

For consistent results, King Arthur Flour is always my preference for baking. https://amzn.to/3FcwfK6

For the purest in flavors, our choice is always Nielsen-Massey. Their Madagascar Bourbon Pure Vanilla Extract https://amzn.to/4je5mDA delivers a depth of vanilla that when paired with their Pure Lemon Extract plus Pure Lemon Paste, is pure perfection!

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