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Beat winter blues with lemony blueberry muffins

Recipe: Meyer lemon-blueberry sour cream muffins with Meyer lemon glaze

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED FEB 1, 2026

Using sour cream, milk and lemon juice creates a soft crumb and golden crown in this lemon-blueberry muffin. Debbie Arrington

My little Meyer lemon bush is barely 4 feet tall, but it’s having a banner year with dozens of smooth little lemons. What better way to beat the winter blues than a lemony blueberry muffin?

Lemon and blueberries — Lemons pair well with fresh blueberries.

This muffin uses Meyer lemon juice in the batter and the glaze, giving it double lemon flavor. Meyer lemons (a hybrid cross that includes mandarin) are naturally sweeter than Eureka or other true lemons; if you substitute a tart lemon, cut amount of juice to 2 tablespoons.

The sour cream, milk and lemon juice combine to give these muffins a soft crumb and a good, golden crown. Key to a tall, bakery-style muffin crown is a hot preheated oven. Bake at 400 degrees and check after 15 minutes; smaller muffins, of course, bake faster than big ones.

The glaze couldn’t be simpler – stir powdered sugar together with lemon juice. For best results, remember to sift the powdered sugar to take out any little lumps; strain the lemon juice, too.

Meyer lemon-blueberry sour cream muffins with Meyer lemon glaze

Makes 12 to 16 muffins

Ingredients:

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

2 eggs, beaten

6 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

¾ cup milk

¾ cup sour cream

¼ cup Meyer lemon juice

1 tablespoon Meyer lemon zest

1 cup blueberries, washed and stemmed

For glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons Meyer lemon juice

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Prepare muffin tin: Grease or line cups with paper or silicone liners. Set aside.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, blend together sugar and beaten eggs. Mix in melted butter or margarine.

In a large measuring cup or medium bowl, combine milk and sour cream. Add lemon juice and lemon zest; mix well.

Add sour cream mixture to sugar-egg mixture; combine well. Stir in flour mixture until just combined; don’t overmix. Gently fold in blueberries. (Too much mixing will turn the batter purple-gray.) Batter will be thick.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each cup about three-quarters full.

Glazed muffins — Glazed and ready to serve.

Bake in a hot 400-degree oven until tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes depending on muffin size.

Remove from oven and let cool.

While they're cooling, prepare glaze: In a bowl, sift powdered sugar. Add lemon juice and stir until smooth. Add a little more juice if needed for desired consistency. Spoon or brush glaze over muffin tops while muffins are cooling.

Note: These muffins freeze well.

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RECIPE

A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.

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Garden checklist for week of May 10

Take it easy during that high heat – then get to work! Your garden is calling.

* Remember to irrigate your tender transplants. Seedlings need consistent moisture. Deep watering will help build strong roots and healthy plants. Water early in the morning for best results.

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. Time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters. (You also can transplant seedlings for many of the same flowers.)

* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.

* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.

* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.

* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.

* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.

* Put your veggie garden on a regular diet. Set up a monthly feeding program, and keep track on your calendar. Make sure to water your garden before applying any fertilizer to prevent “burning” your plants.

* As spring-flowering shrubs finish blooming, give them a little pruning to shape them, removing old and dead wood. Lightly trim azaleas, fuchsias and marguerites for bushier plants.

* Don’t forget to weed! Those invaders are growing fast.

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