Meyer Lemon Ricotta Muffins

Meyer lemon has a softer, sweeter flavor than 'regular' lemons. These muffins are tender and moist with a hint of lemon. The glaze is super easy to make and adds even more citrus-y goodness. Also, don't skip on the almond extract-- it tastes great with the lemon.
Inspired by these two recipes and the meyer lemons I found at the farmer's market.

Question: Anyone else notice sour cream and ricotta cheese seems to make GF baked goods fall after baking? They rise okay in the oven, but fall while cooling. Muffins seem to fare better than cakes, but fluffiness still takes a hit. Maybe I should investigate this...



Makes 12 medium muffins
20 minutes prep + 20 minutes cooking time + 40 minutes glazing/drying
Preheat 350 F
- large mixing bowl
- electric mixer
- large spatula or spoon
- muffin pan; lined with paper or butter
- small bowl
Easy

INGREDIENTS
Muffins
1/2 c. (1 stick) butter
1 c. white sugar
Lemon zest from 2 lemons (~1 Tbsp.); you will also need the juice of said lemons, so keep them!
1 egg
1 c. ricotta cheese
1/2 tsp. almond extract
Lemon juice from 1 to 1.5 lemons (~1 Tbsp.)
2 c. GF flour --> [1 c. Bob's Red Mill All Purpose Baking Flour + 1 c. white rice flour + 2 heaping tsp. xanthan gum]
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt
Lemon Glaze
1/2 c. powdered sugar + more
Juice from 1/2 of a fresh lemon

DIRECTIONS
Muffins

0. Let butter come completely to room temperature. This should take about an hour if the butter isn't frozen. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line the muffin tins with paper or grease with a little butter.
1. In a large mixing bowl, briefly hand mix the soft butter and sugar. Scrub the outside of 2 large lemons and add in their zest. Place the zested lemons aside (you will use their juice later). Beat the butter/sugar mixture with an electric mixer until white and very fluffy-- around 3 minutes.
2. Add in the egg, ricotta cheese, and almond extract. Cut your fresh lemons in half and hand squeeze them to produce around 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice. Be sure to remove any errant seeds. Briefly beat in the egg, cheese, almond extract and lemon juice with the mixer until well combined with the butter/sugar mixture.
3. Add in the flour mix [BRM All-P flour, white rice flour, xanthan gum], baking powder, baking soda and salt all at once. Gentry stir the dry ingredients over the top of the wet (you could mix dry ingredients together in a separate bowl if you wish). Once the dry ingredients are combined, start mixing them with the wet ingredients sitting below; I use a spoon for this. Hand stir until the dough is well mixed. It should pull away from the sides of the bowl and will be almost spongy in texture.
4. Plop the dough into the waiting muffin tins. Equally distribute the fluffy dough; 12 muffins will be filled almost to the top. Place muffins into the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until the tops are lightly golden. Take them out and let cool before glazing.
Lemon Glaze
1. Spoon 1/2 c. powdered sugar into a small bowl. Squeeze in fresh lemon juice. Whisk with a fork until clumps disappear. You want the glaze to just drip from the fork. If mixture is too thick, add in more juice... to watery, use a bit more sugar.
2. Clump the cooled muffins close together on a tray. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the muffins until they are well-covered. Let the muffins sit out for over a half hour, or until the glaze dries. Eat immediately or store in the fridge for a cool treat.