Honey Lemon Thyme Muffins (with crumble topping!)

These honey lemon thyme muffins are so soft and delicious! Packed with lemon flavour and infused with thyme, the buttery crumble topping adds a perfect finish.

I’m really proud of the photos I took for this recipe! My main goal for my food photography right now is to improve my composition (and to embrace negative space). Scroll through the photos below, and let me know if you can see me using leading lines, organic curves, the rule of odds, geometry, framing, and layering.

Before we get to the recipe, Pin this image on Pinterest so you have it saved for later! (Plus, it helps me out to share my blog with more people 🙂 )

Recipe Notes: Honey Lemon Thyme Muffins

This recipe follows your typical muffin-making sequence — but with some extra bits to give it some oomph and some pizzazz!

Infused buttermilk: In order for the lovely fragrant citrus-y flavour of the thyme to come through, we’re going to infuse its flavour into the buttermilk! If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can use regular milk instead.

Chopped thyme: Including the leaves of thyme in the batter helps add some visual interest when you cut it open. Plus, it helps to add some extra bursts of flavour with every bite.

Sweetened with honey: There’s no refined sugars in the muffin batter! All the sweetness comes from honey. If you can, try getting your hands on some locally-produced honey! Local honey tends to be tastier and more fragrant — plus, it can help to fend against seasonal allergies. Support local apiaries!

Buttery crumble topping: The prettiest part of these muffins! A pretty classic crumble — just butter, flour, sugar, rolled oats, and salt. Feel free to omit if you just want a plain muffin.

One last note: Regular muffin liners are just fine, but if you want to make your muffins look a little more ~fancy~ and bakery-esque, cut up some squares of parchment and smoosh them into your muffin tin!

Serve these bad boys warm with a smear of honey butter!

Did you make this recipe? Share it with me on social media @houbakes! I’d love to see your creations 🙂

Honey Lemon Thyme Muffins

Recipe by Sophia HouCourse: Breakfast, SnacksDifficulty: Easy

Servings

12

muffins

Prep time

30

minutes

Baking time

20

minutes

Total time

50

minutes

These honey lemon thyme muffins are so soft and delicious! Packed with lemon flavour and infused with thyme, the buttery crumble topping adds a perfect finish.
Did you make this recipe? Share it with me on social media @houbakes!

Ingredients

• Crumble Topping

• 1/2 cup flour

• 1/3 cup brown sugar

• 1/4 cup oats

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/4 cup butter, melted (1/2 stick)

• Muffin Batter

• 3 cups AP flour

• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder

• 1/8 tsp baking soda

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 cup buttermilk (or milk)

• 1-2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme

• 2 eggs

• 1/2 cup honey

• 1/2 cup oil

• 2 tsp vanilla

• juice of 1 lemon (~1/4 cup)

• zest of 1 lemon

• 1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with muffin liners or squares of parchment.
• Prepare the crumble topping: In a small bowl, mix flour, sugar, oats, and salt. Add melted butter and stir to combine.
• Prepare the batter: In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• In a small saucepan, heat milk or buttermilk and add thyme over medium-low heat. Continue to heat until the aroma of thyme begins to waft up from the milk. Pour into a bowl and set aside to cool. (Let sit in an ice bath for faster cooling.)
• In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add honey, oil, vanilla, lemon juice, lemon zest, and almond extract (if using). Add milk/buttermilk after it’s cooled.
• Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Mix just to moisten — do not overmix! Batter will still have some small lumps.
• Ladle into prepared muffin liners. (It might seem like a lot of batter, but the extra batter means bigger muffin tops!) Sprinkle crumble topping on top.
• Bake for 5 minutes, then turn down the oven temperature to 350°F and bake for another 15 minutes.
• Let cool on a baking rack. Best served warm with honey butter. Store covered at room temperature.

Notes

• Nutrition information per serving: 330 kcal, 15g fat, 46g carbs, 17g sugar, 6g protein