Lemon Thyme Muffins
These Lemon Thyme Muffins are fluffy, buttery, and bursting with fresh flavors. Bright flavors are layered in this recipe with the addition of lemon zest and 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 or summer 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.
Lemon and thyme are the stars of the show in these fluffy muffins. The two bright flavors perfectly complement each other by adding an herby-citrusy flavor to the muffins. Topped with a sweet lemon thyme glaze, these muffins are perfect for any occasion!
For more delicious lemon desserts, check out this refreshing Strawberry Lemon Tart and these gluten free Lemon Poppy Seed Donuts.
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THIS RECIPE
- The muffins are perfect at any time of day
- They are tender and buttery
- Easy to make
- Lemon and thyme perfectly complement each other
INGREDIENT NOTES
- Thyme – I highly recommend using fresh thyme. If you must use dried thyme, reduce the amount to 2 teaspoons and crush it between your fingers before adding it to the batter.
- Buttermilk – Buttermilk makes these muffins extra moist and gives them a nice flavor! If you don’t have any on hand you can use a substitute in a pinch. Mix 1/2 cup milk with 1/2 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice. Let the mixture stand for 10 minutes before using in the recipe.
- Sour cream – Greek yogurt can easily be substituted for the sour cream.
- Vanilla extract – Always use pure vanilla extract (not imitation) for the best tasting baked treats!
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS
- Whisk: Whisk dry ingredients along with the lemon zest and thyme.
- Mix: Mix 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.
EXPERT TIPS
- 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
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:
1. Whisk together the dry ingredients
2. Combine all liquid ingredients, including the melted butter
3. Add the liquids to the dry ingredients and mix just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not try to get a smooth batter!
4. Scoop the batter into your prepared muffin pan and bake immediately.
The main causes of dry muffins is overmixing the batter or overcooking the muffins. As long as you avoid doing these two things your muffins should come out as moist and soft!
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Lemon Thyme Muffins
Equipment
- Muffin pan
- Mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Rubber spatula
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter melted and slightly cooled
- 1/2 cup buttermilk room temperature
- 1/2 cup sour cream room temperature
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 tbsp minced fresh thyme
Lemon Thyme Glaze
- 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
- 1/2 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 flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, lemon zest, and thyme.
- In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, buttermilk, sour cream, egg, vanilla and almond extracts. 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 your prepared muffin pan with about 1/4 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 and top with additional thyme.
Made these as written. They were delicious. Very unique. Next time I’ll make 1.5x the glaze as I wished there was a little more.