Recipe: Citrus Delights

I got a fab-oo mini muffin pan for my birthday. I know, I'm the coolest girl you know that asked for a mini muffin tin for my birthday, but you can read more about how cool my other birthday gifts were here. It's a Pampered Chef pan, and let me tell you... I love it. I made these little Citrus Delights and they popped right out without a problem. I am thoroughly impressed with their non-stick wares. I got a Pampered Chef omelet pan a couple years ago and a large Calphalon skillet at the same time. The non-stick-ness of my Calphalon is useless now. While my omelet pan is amazing. They slide right out every time. Lo & behold, my mini-muffins slide ride out of the pan.

Anyways, my lovely mini-muffin pan came with a fun little recipe that I completely altered into my own Citrus Delights. I made them for my mom for her birthday - Shout out to my Momma! Happy Birthday!

Citrus Delights
Servings: 2 dozen

Ingredients
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup ricotta

1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp lemon extract
Lemon zest from 1 lemon
Lemon juice from 1/2 a lemon

Topping Ingredients
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Lemon juice from 1/2 lemon

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly spray cups of the muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. In a separate bowl, sift & combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; mix well.
2. In another bowl, whisk butter and sugar until well blended. Add egg & whisk until smooth. Mix in ricotta, vanilla & lemon extracts, and lemon zest. Add flour mixture and mix until dry ingredients are moistened. Do not over mix.
3. Using a small scoop (or a rounded tablespoon), drop a scoop of batter into each muffin cup. Bake 8-11 minutes (mine only took 9 minutes). Let them cool in the pan for 3 minutes, then remove from the pan. For the topping, whisk the powdered sugar & lemon juice until smooth. Dip the top of each muffin in the topping & let the excess drip off back into the bowl. The topping will harden a little bit and become opaque.

These are a great combo of sweet muffin/cupcake and a little tart-ness of the frosting topping. They're my new favorite yummy, refreshing treat! But beware... just because they are mini, doesn't mean you can eat more! Even though... I do anyways!