Double-lemon muffins help ease post-holiday gloom

The post-holiday period can seem so dark and gloomy -- the Christmas lights aren't even around anymore to brighten the foggy atmosphere.

I find myself seeking out flavors different from the fall onslaught of cinnamon-peppermint-gingerbread. Fortunately, citrus season is fully upon us.

And, as I'm also trying to use up ingredients still in the house, I hit on the idea of lemon cream cheese muffins. But which lemons to use: tart Eurekas or floral Meyers? The first stands up better to baking, but the Meyers have such a short season that it's a shame not to use the ones in hand.

So I wound up using both: The zest from two of each variety is in this muffin, along with a smidge of tart lemon juice. And still my in-house taster reported they were not excessively lemony. Success!

They also aren't overly sweet, as many lemon muffins are. Just 1/2 cup and 1 tablespoon of sugar in the whole recipe, not counting the light sprinkle of turbinado on the top, which is optional. Glaze or streusel would dress them up for a tea party, but no need to do that for breakfast.

When I made this first, the batter was very thick and a challenge to cover the cream cheese with. So I loosened it up a bit, but if it still seems too thick, just cover the cream cheese as best you can. No harm if some of it peeks out of the top of the muffin.

Double-lemon cream cheese muffins

Makes 12

Ingredients:

Zest from 2 lemons, preferably 1 tart variety, 1 Meyer lemon

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1-3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4  teaspoon allspice

1 egg, at room temperature

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup neutral vegetable oil

1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Filling:

4 ounces regular cream cheese (half an 8-ounce brick), softened

Zest from 2 more lemons (preferably mixed, as above)

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

Turbinado or sparkling sugar, for sprinkling on top, optional

Instructions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 12-cup muffin pan with oil spray.

Place the 1/2 cup sugar in a small bowl, and rub the zest from the first two lemons into it, so the sugar is scented and thoroughly mixed with the zest. Set bowl aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and allspice. Whisk in the zest-sugar combination.

In a medium bowl or measuring cup, combine the egg, milk, vegetable oil, lemon juice and vanilla. Set aside.

To the softened cream cheese, mash in the 1 tablespoon sugar and the zest from the other 2 lemons.

Now, with a spatula or wooden spoon, gently stir the milk mixture into the dry ingredients until they are just moistened. Lumps are OK.

Retrieve the prepared muffin pan and add enough batter to cover the bottom of each cup. Be sure to reserve about one-third of the batter to cover the cream cheese.

Now spoon a blob of the cream cheese mixture into each cup on top of the batter. (See photo for how much I used.) Then carefully cover the cream cheese as best you can with the rest of the batter.

Sprinkle turbinado or sparkling sugar on top if desired.

Bake 15-18 minutes, until muffins are golden brown. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then remove from pan. Serve warm.