So Good! New Bakery Style Coconut Lemon Muffins with Crunchy Sugar

Today, muffins. I’m excited to share this wonderful Coconut Lemon Muffins with Crunchy Sugar recipe with you, as I think it’s a pretty stellar one; a muffin to beat all others. Not to be confused with our Lemon Poppyseed Muffins (which are their own thing), these coconut lemon muffins are large and in charge, perfectly flavored with a few of my favorite things. The brightness of the lemon juice and zest pair so wonderfully with the mellow sweetness of coconut, and the subtle micro-crunch of poppy seeds and course sugar adds the perfect texture. I’m here to tell you that if you’ve never considered the benefit of a nice hit of texture to your muffins, you’re in for a lovely surprise here. I just love them. 

Why We Love These Coconut Lemon Muffins So Much

These coconut lemon muffins are the kind of thing that is genuinely tough for me to not sneak bite after bite of as I’m shooting it, because they’re so delicious, in every possible way. Not a terrible problem to have, I suppose. These muffins are so flavorful, thanks to the winning combination of both coconut extract and bright, glorious lemon. They’re just sweet enough, one of the hallmarks of most muffins, I suppose. But that crunchy Turbinado sugar crust really seals the whole deal. It makes them addictive, trust me there.

The fact that we’re baking these coconut lemon muffins up in extra large muffin tins is what qualifies them as “bakery style” and it just makes them look better than other standard muffins, you know? Now, you can certainly bake them in regular muffin tins and call it good. That’s no problem at all. But if you can get your hands on an extra large or “Texas Sized” muffin tin – DO IT! Your muffins will be all the better for it henceforth.

How to Make these Bakery Style Coconut Lemon Muffins with Crunchy Sugar

Alright. I use good ole artificial coconut extract in this coconut lemon muffins recipe, as there really is no better way to get that coconut flavor into the batter. You only need 1.5 teaspoons – just a bit – to get it.

Adjust your oven rack to the central position and preheat to 375 degrees F. Grease or line an extra-large muffin tin.

2.     Whisk the flour, sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl for about one minute.

3.     In a separate bowl, whisk the yogurt, lemon zest, juice, coconut extract, and eggs until smooth. Gently fold the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture, stopping just when it’s all combined. Stir in the melted butter. Don’t over mix! Doing so will overwork the proteins and create dense, tougher muffins.

4.    Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, making sure not to fill them much more than 3/4 of the way to the top (you might get more than 6). Bake until golden brown and a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 to 30 minutes (I like to check on them at 20 minutes). Rotate the muffin tin halfway through baking. When they’re done, cool them in the pan for about 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to glaze. Using a knife or toothpick, poke about 8 to 10 holes in each muffin (going almost all the way through).

5.    Meanwhile, make the glaze: add the sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla to a small saucepan over medium heat and gently cook until the sugar has melted, creating a syrup; about 3-5 minutes. Cool for a few minutes before using.

6.     Brush the cooled muffins with the lemon glaze, ensuring the glaze drips down into the holes you created. Roll or sprinkle each with lots of coarse sugar, creating a sparkly, crunchy crust on top (arguably the best part).

What is a “Texas-Sized” muffin tin, anyway?

By baking your muffins in a “jumbo” or “king-sized” or “Texas-sized” muffin pan (you’ll see all of these names), you’ll achieve that special, bakery-style look and feel that gives this recipe the extra nudge into truly amazing territory. 

When it comes to really great, bakery-esque muffins, turns out size does matter somewhat. Often readily available where most baking equipment is sold, these jumbo” muffin tins typically are about 3.5 inches across the top, in diameter (per muffin cup) and about 2 inches deep. This varies from pan to pan, but those are good measurements to look for when trying to locate a jumbo muffin tin. 

If you don’t have one or don’t want to purchase one, you can use regular muffin tins, and the recipe should yield about 10 muffins (give or take one), rather than 6, and you’ll want to reduce the bake time to about 20 – 25 minutes.

Just keep your trusty cake tester at the ready (or a toothpick, or a knife … whatever you use is great), so you can check for doneness. You’ll want to remove your muffins from the oven just as soon as they’re baked through. No one likes a dry muffin, after all.

Storing and Freezing your Coconut Lemon Muffins

These muffins with keep nicely for you at room temperature in a sealed container for up to 3 days (if they last that long!). They will keep in the freezer for about 2 months.

What is the difference between muffins and cupcakes?

Muffins shouldn’t be confused with cupcakes, though they sometimes are lumped together. These two things are not equal, as cupcakes are meant to be much lighter, with a less dense crumb. Muffins, however comprise a sturdier, courser, more substantial build. See our Juicy Strawberry Muffins and Banana Toffee Muffins for more. Our bakery-style lemon poppy seed muffins strike a nice balance of tender crumb, subtly sweet flavor, and the just-right muffin texture that I look for.

Technically speaking, muffins are made by the muffin method, which actually qualifies them as small quick breads (similar in style and structure to this Raspberry Dream Bread, Apple Quick Bread, Carrot Bread, and Banana Bread. In the muffin method, wet ingredients are combined in one bowl, while the dry ingredients are combined in a separate one. The contents of the two bowls are incorporated together with minimal mixing to avoid gluten development and a tough final texture. The crumb you end up with after employing this “muffin method” is courser than that of a cupcake.

As such, cupcakes are small cakes (um, duh). They are created by using any one of the more classic methods of cake baking, such as the creaming method, the reverse creaming method, the genoise method, the chiffon method, joconde, and so on. Cupcakes almost always have a much finer, more tender crumb than their muffin brethren.

Coconut Lemon Muffins Quick Reference Guide

• Muffins are usually less sweet than cupcakes.
• Cupcakes are almost always void of crispness or crunch of any sort, whereas muffins are often texturized in one way or another, by adding nuts or a sugar topping.
• Cupcakes are typically iced or frosted, whereas muffins tend to lack that, often sporting simply crumb or sugar crusts instead.
• Muffins are often made to overflow their baking tins, resulting in tops that are larger, giving them a bit of a mushroom shape. Cupcakes on the other hand, usually have a top or cap that is consistent in size with the rest of the cake.

If cozy, homey desserts are your thing, you might also like:

Vanilla Chai Swirl Pull Apart Bread

Biscoff Banana Pudding

Kentucky Butter Cake

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

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