Lemon muffins

I just made this recipe over the weekend and it was a big hit.  It has some unusual ingredients for a muffin recipe (olive oil, ricotta cheese), but somehow it all works and the muffins stayed really moist.  The lemon flavor is not really intense, so I did add a bit more lemon juice/zest than specified and reduced the water accordingly.  My muffin-baking tip is to use foil cups instead of a muffin pan.  I find that makes for much less browning on the outside and a more consistent baking inside.  Plus, you don't have to clean up a muffin tin afterward!

Lemon Muffins

(from Cooking Light)

1 3/4 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 c. part-skim ricotta cheese

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup olive oil

1 Tbsp. grated lemon rind

2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 Tbsp. turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; make a well in the center.  In a separate bowl, combine the ricotta and next five ingredients.  Add to dry ingredients and stir just until moist.  Coat muffin pan or muffin-cup liners with cooking spray.  Spoon batter into cups and sprinkle with turbinado sugar.  Bake for 16 minutes.  (Yields 12-16 muffins)