Farm Family Recipes

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Butter standard-size muffin tins. Finely grate the zest from the lemons, removing only the bright yellow portion of the peel. Set the lemons aside. Combine the zest, the water and 1/4 cup of the sugar in a small saucepan. Stir over medium heat for about 2 minutes, just until the sugar dissolves. Add the butter and stir until melted, about 1 minute longer. Set aside. With a sharp knife, remove and discard all the remaining peel from the lemons. Cut the lemons crosswise into slices about 1/4 inch thick; discard any seeds. You will need about 12 nicely shaped slices. Put about 1 teaspoon of the remaining sugar in the bottom of each prepared muffin cup and place a lemon slice on top. In a medium bowl, stir and toss together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a larger bowl, whisk together the eggs milk and the reserved lemon mixture until smooth. Add the combined dry ingredients and stir just until blended. Spoon into the tins, filling about 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Immediately invert the tins; the muffins should fall out. If they resist, nudge them out with a knife.