Lemon Ricotta Blackberry Muffins - Review

Photo by Two Peas & Their Pod

When I came across this recipe from “Two Peas & Their Pod” I wasn’t sure if I wanted to try it.  I had made muffins containing ricotta cheese in the past, and they always turned out too moist.  But their combination of lemon and blackberry lured me in.  So this morning, I baked up a batch.  Here is the recipe for Lemon Ricotta Blackberry Muffins:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
Zest of 2 lemons
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup ricotta cheese (whole or low-fat is fine)
1 large egg
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fresh blackberries
Turbinado sugar-for sprinkling on muffin tops

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a small bowl, add the sugar and lemon zest. Rub the lemon zest and sugar together with your fingers. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar and lemon zest mixture together until light and fluffy, about two minutes. Add the ricotta cheese and beat until smooth. Beat in the egg, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.

3. Add the dry ingredients and mix until just blended. Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, fill each muffin cup half way with batter. Add three blackberries to each muffin cup. Top the muffins with remaining batter so blackberries are covered. Generously sprinkle turbinado sugar over each muffin top.

4. Bake muffins for about 20 minutes, or until the tops are slightly golden brown. Let muffins cool for five minutes and serve.

Makes 12 muffins

I followed the recipe using part-skim ricotta.  After I used my microplane to zest the lemons, I finely chopped the lemon zest before adding it to the bowl (it’s just a habit of mine).  As I was mixing the dry ingredients with the ricotta mixture, I started to worry that the batter looked way too thick.  It was looking like a slightly moist cookie dough. 

I resisted the urge to add liquid, and scooped the batter into the prepared muffin cups.  Because my blackberries were so big, I could only press one on top of each muffin.  I pushed it down as far as I could, sprinkled the sugar on top and baked them. 

After a bit, my kitchen started to smell like luscious lemon sugar cookies!  I only hoped that they tasted as good as they smelled.  After they cooled a few minutes I tried one.  I have to say that the flavor was delicious, but I couldn’t help but think am I eating a muffin or a scone?  It had the texture of a good drop scone, drier than a muffin, but not as dry as a regular scone.  I loved it!

If you are a lover of lemon scones, you should try this recipe.  I think the next time I make these, I will omit the paper baking cups and just scoop them on a lined baking sheet.  Now, I need to go get my coffee and have another one!

Check out the Two Peas & Their Pod blog for more delicious recipes.

twopeasandtheirpod.com

Happy baking,
Pam