Lemon and any kind of berry is one of my favorite flavor combos. Makes sense, since lemon and berries are both in my top 5 favorite foods/flavors ever (for the record: rice, Asian cuisine, tomatoes, lemons, berries). Ok, I know that listing Asian cuisine is cheating since it’s so broad, but I don’t care, I love it all!

I recently came across this recipe from Deb at Smitten Kitchen using her “Surprise Me” feature. You just click the button and it takes you to a random recipe from Deb’s archives. I’m highly amused by this and have been known to press “surprise me” repeatedly for hours, since I have something to learn from every one of her posts, both about cooking and photography. Whenever I’m bored or can’t sleep, this is my favorite go-to activity.

So that’s how I happened upon this gem of a recipe. Raves. That’s all I have. I wholeheartedly agree with Deb’s command: “These muffins are shockingly good. Make them.” Make them soon, though, while raspberries are in season. I think the huge, perfect raspberries were key to this success.

Raspberry-Topped Lemon-Sugar Muffins
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes about 16 muffins

1 1/8 cups sugar, divided
4 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest (from two large lemons)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 1/2-pint containers (about) fresh raspberries

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Line 16 muffin cups with paper liners. (Amy’s note: if your muffin tins hold 12, like mine do, fill the empty cups with a bit of water before putting the muffins in the oven).

2. Mash 1/8 cup sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl until sugar is slightly moist.

3. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl to blend.

4. Using electric mixer, beat remaining 1 cup sugar and butter in large bowl until smooth. Beat in egg. Beat in buttermilk, then vanilla and lemon sugar. Beat in flour mixture.

5. Divide batter among muffin cups, about 2/3 full each. Top each muffin with 4 raspberries. Bake muffins until lightly browned on top and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes.