YAAAAYYYYYYYY FOR SPRING!!! It’s FINALLY getting warmer, and I could NOT be more excited for all this sunshine! Seriously, I can’t even describe my elation. (I’m textbook, albeit self-diagnosed, seasonal affect disorder over here. Can. Not. Function. in gloomy weather.) And speaking of bright and beautiful, these lemon pistachio corn muffins are just that. Bold yellow and green colors with a burst of bright citrus flavor. Bring on spring!
I’ve always loved lemon anything, but I think I’m starting to really enjoy its multifaceted uses even more these days. Like, to the point I’m trying to convince Anthony that we should grow a lemon tree… in our apartment. Well, maybe on the balcony. It would be potted! At least at first… And hopefully resilient enough to withstand my not-so-green thumb. Still working on him… For now, organic lemons from the grocery store will have to suffice. 😉
To me, citrus = sunshine = spring and summer, so look forward to many more citrus recipes in the coming weeks! The lemon flavor here is a bit more subtle than in some recipes, so even if you’re not a lemon lover (which I couldn’t imagine) you’ll still enjoy these. The pistachios bring a really great texture to the muffin and a sweet, nutty flavor. And you just can’t beat that beautiful green color! The even better news is, they’re pretty simple to make- no mixer required, just 2 bowls and a food processor. Oh, did I mention they’re #HulkApproved? Yeah, he ate nearly the whole batch in the better part of a week. You know what that means- no butter, no sugar. Hooray!
- ½ cup shelled pistachios
- ¾ cup almond flour
- 1¼ cup fine cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ⅓ cup melted and cooled coconut oil
- ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 cup honey
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and line muffin tins with paper liners.
- In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the pistachios a few times into small chunks (about 1.4 of their original size). Remove half the pistachios from the food processor and set aside. Continue processing the remaining pistachios into a coarse meal that resembles sand.
- Transfer the pistachio meal to a large bowl and add the almond flour, cornmeal, salt and baking powder. Stir to make sure all dry ingredients are evenly distributed.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the melted coconut oil, Greek yogurt, eggs, lemon juice and zest, honey, and almond extract until you get a smooth, homogeneous mixture.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until fully incorporated (don't overmix, though).
- Use an ice cream scoop or large spoon to fill the lined muffin tins about ¾ full. Sprinkle reserved chopped pistachios evenly on top of each muffin.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of each muffin comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool on a wire rack about 10 minutes before serving.
As you may have noticed, we really like corn muffins. Maybe it’s the southern girl in me that can’t deny her affinity for cornbread. The fun, though, is really in playing with the flavors and creating something new every time. I think these lemon pistachio corn muffins are the house favorite, but that doesn’t mean we love our herbes de provence corn muffins and jalapeño corn muffins any less! Just depends on what you’re in the mood for. And since we still have cornmeal, I’m sure we’ll figure out yet another variation!