Lucious Lemon Ricotta Muffins

MMMmmmmm

So I had extra ricotta from the lasagna I made Sunday and I had no idea what to do with it. I searched for recipes and found these little babies. I adapted these from Giada's De Laurentiis's recipe. Her recipe had almond extract,which I love,but I didn't have any. I did however have lemon extract. I love lemon and there was already lemon zest in it so it was perfect. I used that instead. I also didn't have almonds so I omitted. whatever- cook with what you have right? I also ended up cutting the amount of sugar in half. They tasted great without it. I also added this awesome strawberry preserves from the Loveless Cafe ( what's up Nashville????)The combination of lemon and strawberries was delish. If you have fresh fruit by all means add it in! Can I just say these may be my new guilty pleasure. They are a cross between a scone and a muffin. The lemon extract was a nice added touch to the batter. To bump the yum factor up a notch I made a lemon icing with confectionary sugar and lemon juice. People- make this icing. Tart.Smooth.Delicious. These are great for breakfast or a brunch for a crowd. They would be cute as mini muffins also. Enjoy!!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar or more as needed for sprinkling ( I used 1/2 up of sugar + sprinkling)
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
• 1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract ( or any other extract you want)
• 1/3 cup thinly sliced almonds

Directions

Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat 1 cup sugar, butter, and lemon zest in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the ricotta. Beat in the egg, lemon juice, and almond extract. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended (the batter will be thick and fluffy).

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the almonds and then the remaining 1 teaspoon of sugar over the muffins. Bake until the muffins just become pale golden on top, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Lemony Goodness