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Thursday, February 10, 2011

A Pot of Tea, a Good Book and Lemon Cream Cheese Muffins






There's something almost luxurious about having a weekday off.  Especially if it's a freezing cold Monday in early February.  While everyone else is out there miserably scraping their windshields, I was all tucked in, snug as bug in my warm little house.  Rising later than 6:00 and staying in my pajamas until I feel like it is a total treat, and not one I get to indulge in too often.  On this particularly frigid day, I was glad I had nowhere to be until my yoga class later in the afternoon.  A whole day with a blank canvas stretched before me.  What oh what was I going to do?  Why, bake of course!!!! All I really wanted to do was whip up these divine lemon cream cheese muffins, brew my polka dot tea pot full of good tea, and curl up with a favourite read. I'm currently loving "Cool Water" by Regina author (and winner of this year's Governor General's Literary Award for fiction!) Dianne Warren.  Throw a cat or two along for the ride.  If I curl up, they curl up.




Now let's talk about these light and lovely lemon cream cheese muffins.  After I graduated from Culinary School, I worked in the Yukon that summer.  There was a really talented pastry chef on staff and she gave me this recipe.  I learned quite a lot that summer, while having the time of my life, cooking and adventuring in the wild!  Good times.  But back to the muffins.  The batter is light, with little chunks of cream cheese thrown in for some decadence. I like to leave some bigger chunks, because then you bite into this cakey cream cheese lemony loveliness. Brushing the tops of the hot muffins with sugar and lemon juice is a nice finish.  They are pretty dreamy as is, or you can further up the dreaminess by topping with a little lemon buttercream.  These are perfect for a baby or bridal shower, or a birthday, or just an everyday treat, when you want a little nurturing yourself.  Kind of like the day I had planned.  A little self-nurturing goes a long way in my world.





I hope my handwriting is legible enough...Combine the dry ingredients, cut in the cubes of cream cheese.  In a separate bowl combine the wet ( I like to add more lemon zest and a bit more juice for extra flavour.)Add the wet to the dry, mixing just a little until all is combined.  This recipe makes about 10 muffins.  Bake for 20-25 minutes at 375*F, and brush the 2 Tbsp. each lemon juice/sugar mixture on top of hot muffins.  Glorious!!!!




And don't forget to have a nice cup of tea with your little lemon lovelies.  Somehow tea always tastes better in my vintage cups.  Just a matter of choosing which one I'll use that day!






Blue it is!



26 comments:

  1. I've changed the settings so you don't have to jump through a bunch of hoops to leave a comment. so go ahead - leave a comment!

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  2. AWESOME! AWESOME! AWESOME! :)

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  3. This looks so fabulous! I'm going to make them tomorrow!! LOVE the photos, ESP. The one from your recipe book!

    Shan

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  4. yay! i am making these right now! i had to use soft cream cheese but they are still looking really good!

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  5. You have a beautiful site. The photography is awesome and the muffins sound delicious. I'm going to try making some soon.

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  6. Made these for my son and neices this past weekend and they were a hit. I'll admit...I had my fair share too!

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  7. Thanks everyone for your kind comments! I'm glad you like the muffins as much as I do!

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  8. Hey Renee,

    I made these for my workmates and they absolutely loved them. Even though all us girls are on diets, they all had three each, which, sadly, meant there were no leftovers for my Justin :(

    Chyanne

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  9. Dearest Chy. I guess you will just have to make more of these muffins for your husband only. Poor Justin indeed! And what do you need to be on a diet for? You are gorgeous!

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  10. Just made these and they are so good! one of my favorite recipes! Thanks!

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  11. Anything with lemon and I'm hooked.....these look scrumptious ! Perfect with a nice cup of tea ! Just found you through Pinterest, so glad I did, you have a lovely blog....I'll be back for more.

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  12. I want to make this recipe but I'm having a very difficult time reading the Hand written recipe. Can you print the ingredients for me? Thank you linda

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  13. Hi Linda - here is the recipe:
    1 1/4 cup flour
    1 1/2 tsp baking powder
    1/2 tsp salt
    2/3 cup sugar
    4 oz cream cheese, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
    1 egg
    1/3 cup oil
    1/2 cup milk
    1 tbsp lemon juice
    1 tbsp grated lemon peel
    2 tbsp lemon juice
    2 tbsp sugar

    Combine flour, baking powder, salt, sugar in a large bowl. Add the cream cheese and using a pastry blender or your hands, work it until small and large chunks of cream cheese remain. In another bowl beat together egg, oil, milk, 1 tbsp lemon juice and peel. Stir this into the dry ingredients just until all combined. Scoop into paper lined muffin tins, bake for about 20-25 minutes at 375*F. Stir together the 2 tbsp of lemon juice and sugar and brush on hot muffins.
    Hope that helps!

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  14. I was just about to say that I couldn't quite make out the recipe, and I get to the end here and you typed it out. Yay! I can't wait to try them :)

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  15. Making these for a brunch this weekend and I can't WAIT to see how they turn out!

    Thanks, Jamie

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  16. I just made these with orange instead of lemon, because that's what I've got in the house. They were delicious! But, I do think lemon would give more of a punch. Next time I'll try lemon with a bit of orange (just because I LOVE orange in baking.) This recipe is the perfect size too... just enough to enjoy at home, and share with some family or friends, and not have leftovers :)

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  17. I plan on doubling this recipe to use up my large block of cream cheese. That way I can share with others too without feeling deprived myself. :)
    Bev

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  18. can you make this as a cake?

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  19. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

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  20. I wish there was a way to be able to print this out.

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    1. I'm working on adding a Print option. Stay tuned! Sorry for the delay!

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  21. Just made them. Yum.

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Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment!