Lemon Blossom Muffins

These guys are AMAZING. Any time I make them they are a huge hit. They are fresh, tangy, moist, with a little crunch from the glaze. They are perfect for dessert or breakfast...or as a mid-day snack. Also, since the recipe makes so many, they are great for taking to parties. These muffins are also really good cold, right out of the refrigerator. And the best part about them is that they are super easy to make. My Mom gave me this recipe, and supposedly it's from Paula Dean, though given the lack of butter, I find that hard to believe.

Note: since these make about 4 dozen, it really helps to have at least 2 mini-muffin pans.

Ingredients (makes 4-5 dozen)

Muffins

- 1 yellow cake mix

- 3.4 oz instant lemon pudding mix from Jello

- 4 large eggs

- 3/4 C vegetable oil

Glaze

- 3 C powdered sugar

- zest of two lemons

- 1/3 C fresh lemon juice

- 1 TBSP vegetable oil

-2 TBSP water

(Preheat oven to 350)

Steps

1. Mix muffin ingredients in a large bowl for about 2 minutes. Note: the batter will be quite gooey.

2. Spray miniature muffin tins with oil.  Using two cereal spoons, spoon batter into muffin tins filling only halfway. Bake at 350 for 11-12 minutes. 

3. While muffins are baking, make glaze by whisking all glaze ingredients together in a medium bowl until smooth.

4. It's best to glaze muffins when they are warm, but not right out of the oven (they'll fall apart if they are too hot). So let the muffins sit in the pan for a few minutes before removing. The muffins are kind of delicate, but I discovered a trick to more easily remove them: lightly grab the tops, and then turn them as if you are unscrewing them from the pan. This will release them and make it easier to pop them out of the pan.

5. Glaze them completely by dunking them/rolling them in the glaze (I just used my fingers). Shake off excess glaze.

6. Repeat steps 2-5 until you're out of batter.

7. Allow muffins to dry on a wire rack with some foil underneath that the glaze will drip onto. Let the glaze set before storing in a container.