Home Baked Lemon Pistachio Muffins have a soft and tender crumb and are glazed with a fresh lemon drizzle. They’re the perfect bakery treat when you’re craving something a little sweet.
This Pistachio muffin has a fresh lemon essence that is like a breath of Spring! I’m a huge fan of lemon and could eat lemon muffins or lemon desserts every day of the week if my waistline could tolerate it.
I’ve been on a serious homemade muffin kick lately. It’s no secret that I love making easy muffin recipes. One of the recipes
Lemon just brightens anything up, including me! I especially like baked goods with lemon flavors such as these simple lemon muffins with glaze and pistachios!
How to Make Lemon Pistachio Muffins
Making homemade pistachio muffins from scratch isn’t difficult. If you think about it, store-bought muffin mixes are just the dry ingredients and YOU add the wet ingredients such as egg, milk, oil, and extracts. So why not mix the dry ingredients yourself, save a little money, and know exactly what goes into your food.
Ingredients for Lemon Pistachio Muffins
You are buying very basic ingredients that you may already have on hand such as flour, sugar, salt, and leavening agents (baking soda and baking powder). I’m all for convenience so use what is right for you.
Besides ingredients from your baking pantry, you’ll also need
- a lemon.
- lemon extract. This is not the same as lemon juice and is found with the spices and extracts at your grocery store.
- pistachios.
- whole milk. The extra fat in whole milk keeps these muffins moist.
What is the best kind of flour to use to make muffins?
All-purpose flour is perfectly fine for muffin recipes. The impact of the kind of flour that you use in some finer desserts or sturdier bread recipes is more measurable.
It’s based on the protein content. The higher the protein content, the sturdier or stronger the flour. There are several references for explaining the differences in flour such as Fine Cooking.
What is the difference between muffins and cupcakes?
My first thought is it’s perfectly acceptable to eat them for breakfast! But in all seriousness this is what the differences generally are:
| Difference | Muffin | Cupcake |
| Flavor | Sweet or Savory | Sweet |
| Topping | None, streusel, glaze | Frosting |
| Crumb | Denser | Light, Soft |
| Served | Breakfast, with meal | Dessert |
Tips for Making Lemon Pistachio Muffins
- One question I always like to ask is – are your leavening agents active? Try these tests.
- To test baking soda, add a couple of ounces of vinegar to 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. If it fizzes, it’s active.
- To test baking powder, add 1/2 teaspoon to about 1/4 cup of warm water. If it fizzes, it’s active.
- Replace baking powder and baking soda every six months or less.
- We mix a little bit of flour with the pistachios. This keeps them suspended in the batter so they don’t all fall to the bottom of the muffins.
- Don’t overmix. That will result in a tough muffin.
- Using room temperature ingredients will assure that your batter is smooth. If you don’t have time to pull ingredients out of the refrigerator a couple of hours ahead (and who actually remembers to do that?!), here are some tips.
- To take the chill off of the egg, submerge it into warm water food 5 minutes.
- The milk can be microwaved for 15 to 30 seconds.
- Don’t be tempted to overfill the tin.
- The glaze can be kept in the refrigerator and drizzled on before serving
- This batter will make about 40 mini muffins.
Storing Your Muffins
My Lemon Pistachio Muffins can be stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3 to 5 days, if you actually have leftovers!
Lemon Pistachio Muffins freeze well for up to 3 months in an airtight container. We recommend glazing the muffins after thawing them. This allows you to thaw them in the microwave for speed, without destroying the glaze.
Baking Tools You May Need
- 12-cup Non-stick muffin pan – I love these muffin pans and have three of them so I can get them all filled and baked at once. They’re great for egg cups too!
- Mini-Prep Food Processor – This little genius is a work-horse in my kitchen. I love that I don’t have to drag my big heavy one out when I want to chop nuts or veggies.
- Scoops – Wonder how those cookies are the same size? Scoops and I use them for my cupcakes too!
Similar Muffin Recipes to Try
- Basic Muffin Recipe
- Gluten-Free Coconut Muffins
- Harvest Muffins
- Double Chocolate Muffins
- Mango Muffins
- Blueberry Muffins with Orange Pecan Crumble
- Cherry Almond Muffins
More recipes with Lemon that we love!
- Lemon Snowflake Cookies
- Blueberry Lemonade Pie
- Lemon Olive Oil Cake
- Old-Fashioned Lemon Icebox Pie
- Lemon Pudding Poke Cake
- Blackened Salmon with Lemon Butter
As crazy as I am for a good muffin, I’m always looking for new inspiration.
Are you looking for a flavor you’d like developed into a muffin? Perhaps you have a memory of one that the recipe has disappeared?
Let me know and I’ll do my best to make it and you’ll see it here!
Home Baked Lemon Pistachio Muffins
Ingredients
Muffin Batter
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cups whole milk
- 1 egg large
- 1 lemon (juice and zest)
- 1 tsp lemon extract
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup pistachios coarsely ground
- 1 tbsp flour
Glaze
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 1/2 tsp lemon extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease or line 2 12-cup muffin tins with oil, butter, or a non-stick cooking spray or insert cupcake liners.
Muffins
- Combine milk and the juice from one lemon together and set aside. This will become buttermilk after about 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together and set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, combine sugar, lemon juice-milk mixture, and egg. Blend together and then add lemon zest and lemon extract. Blend until smooth.
- Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients.
- Combine ground pistachios with 1 tablespoon of flour. Fold this mixture into the batter. The flour helps the pistachios to stay suspended throughout the batter.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the muffin pan and let them cool on a wire rack.
Glaze
- Combine the glaze ingredients together. The consistency should resemble maple syrup. If it’s too thick to drizzle add more milk. If it’s too thin add powdered sugar.
- Lightly shake a fork dipped in the glaze over the top of the muffins.
- Store muffins in an airtight container. They may also be frozen.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
This recipe was calculated using the exact brands and measurements I used to make this recipe. If you are following a strict diet please note changing anything will cause the nutritional info to change. My calculations are intended as a guide only.
Lynn April
Saturday 1st of May 2021
I've got to try this combo-- love me a pistachio muffin!
Julie Menghini
Saturday 1st of May 2021
Thank you, Lynn!
Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious
Friday 30th of April 2021
I have a lemon tree and love muffins. Printing this recipe now!
Julie Menghini
Saturday 1st of May 2021
I'm so jealous, Dorothy! I'd love a lemon tree. We hope you enjoy the muffins!
Ellen
Friday 30th of April 2021
I love making muffins for breakfast or snacks. These will be perfect, especially since pistachios are on sale this week at my store!
Julie Menghini
Saturday 1st of May 2021
Perfect! Thank you Ellen. We love having them for breakfast and snacks!
Amy (Savory Moments)
Thursday 29th of April 2021
These muffins look so good! Lemon is one of my favorite flavors for any baked goods and the addition of pistachios sounds perfect!
Julie Menghini
Saturday 1st of May 2021
Thank you, Amy!
Hezzi-D
Wednesday 28th of April 2021
I'm all about any baked goods with lemons! Plus the pistachios sound perfect.
Julie Menghini
Wednesday 28th of April 2021
I love it too! Thank you.