Lemon Muffins for #SecretRecipeClub and #MuffinMonday

Woohoooo it's a Secret Recipe Club Special Event!!  Since this month has 5 Mondays we are celebrating "back to school".  In these special events we are not required to participate and we are often assigned a blogger outside of our group.  This gives us an opportunity to get to know other members with whom we would normally not have contact.

I was excited to be assigned to Daily Dish Recipes owned by Nicole.  I do know Nicole from other blogging clubs and events but I have never been lucky enough to have been assigned her in past SRC events. 

Nicole live in Missouri and is mom to 5 teenagers.  You can tell how much she loves being a mom and she rounds out her life with cooking and writing.  She has been writing on line now for over 12 years so you can just imagine the treasures you can find when browsing her blog.

I knew exactly what I wanted to make when I signed up for this back to school challenge.  You see, it is also #MuffinMonday, another fun group to which I belong.  Muffin Monday is the brainchild of Stacy from Food Lust People Love.  She invites other bloggers to join her on the last Monday of each month and share a muffin recipe.  That's it...no themes, no hosting, no obligations....just muffins, muffins and more muffins.

Muffins are perfect for back to school.  They are a nutritious, quick breakfast that you can hand off to your kids with a piece of fruit as they run out the door.  They make a great dessert in their lunchboxes and they are a perfect snack when they get home and are starving before dinnertime.

I went right to Nicole's bread section in her recipe index.  I found a wonderful Chocolate Chip Muffin but it called for sour cream and there was none to be had in my refrigerator.  Then there were these ooey gooey looking Caramel Apple Muffins but they were from a previous SRC assignment as were these Fresh Strawberry Muffins.  

It would take me a long while to link to every great muffin recipe I found on Nicole's blog so instead I just recommend that you head over and take a gander at her visual recipe file.  Take a napkin with you to wipe the drool from you keyboard.

I finally settled on Nicole's, Delicious Breakfast Muffins.  I adapted the recipe slightly by adding some lemon juice, zest and extract to the batter.  

Lemon Muffins

adapted from Daily Dish Recipes 

2 eggs

2/3 c. oil

2/3 c. sugar

juice of 1/2 lemon + milk to equal 1 cup

zest of 1/2 lemon

1 1/2 c. flour

1/2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. baking soda

1/2 t. lemon extract

1 t. vanilla extract

In large bowl of stand mixer, fitted with paddle attachment, beat the eggs, oil, sugar and milk.  Lower the speed and stir in the flour, baking powder and baking soda until just combined. Mix in the zest and extracts.  Divide between a 12 cup baking tin that has been treated with baking spray or lined with paper cups.  Bake in a preheated 350* oven for 15-17 minutes, or until a skewer inserted removes cleanly.  Print Recipe

Here are the other Back to School Offerings

An InLinkz Link-up

More Mouthwatering Muffins

• Apple Zucchini Muffins by Palatable Pastime
• Blackberry Lemon Thyme Muffins by Food Lust People Love
• Doughnut Muffins by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Key Lime Pie Muffins (two ways) by Sew You Think You Can Cook
• Lemon Muffins by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Whole Wheat Pear & Pecan Streusel Muffins (aka the Crack Muffins) by Farm Fresh Feasts
• Plantain Muffins by Passion Kneaded

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board.

Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.