Giada's Nonna's Lemon Almond Ricotta Muffins

My sister Maria shares some great muffin recipes with me, and this Lemon Almond Ricotta Muffin one is no exception. I actually had saved this recipe myself before she told me that she makes them, but I hadn't tried them until recently. I love almond and lemon flavored baked goods, so I think these are amazing. I always keep a few fresh muffins out and individually wrap and freeze most of them to enjoy other days. Give them a try!

Nonna's Lemon Almond Ricotta Muffins

Recipe courtesy Giada de Laurentiis

 

These muffins are perfectly light and fluffy, with subtle flavors from almond and lemon. They make the house smell amazing, and it’s such a great bite with morning coffee.

 

2 cups all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar or more as needed for sprinkling

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 Tablespoon finely grated lemon zest (from 2 lemons)

1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese

1 large egg

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon almond extract

1/3 cup thinly sliced almonds

 

Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Preheat the oven to 350°. 

 

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl to blend. Using an electric mixer, beat 1 cup sugar, butter, and lemon zest in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the ricotta. Beat in the egg, lemon juice, and almond extract. Add the dry ingredients and stir just until blended (the batter will be thick and fluffy). 

 

Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the almonds and then the remaining 1 teaspoon of sugar over the muffins. Bake until the muffins just become pale golden on top, about 20 minutes.

 

Cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

 

Yield: 12 muffins.

Almond Cake Bars

I went to a few parties over the past few months where my friend Steve's mom made almond cake bars that were so delicious. I saw her at another party recently and asked her for the recipe. I had been looking for recipes (other than cookies) to bake to send to my husband while he is deployed, and thought these would work well. I sent him a box last week that included some of these bars, and he loved them! I made another batch tonight to bring to my family's Christmas dinner.

These bars are very simple to make. You mix everything in one bowl, then spread in a pan (she uses a 9" springform but I used a 9" square pan) and top with sliced almonds and sugar. To send to my husband, I packaged them with plastic wrap in a food container and froze them until I was ready to mail the package. They got to him 5 days later and still tasted great! This is a delicious recipe that is easy enough to make when you need a quick dessert, and is also a good recipe to make with kids. The hardest part is waiting until they cool to slice and eat them!

 

Almond Cake Bars                                            

~ Carolann Antos Barbieri

Bars
¾ cup butter, melted
1½ cups sugar
2 eggs
½ teaspoon salt (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ teaspoons almond extract
1½ cups flour

topping
¾ cup sliced almonds

1 Tablespoon sugar

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour the bottom and sides of a 9-inch pan.

Melt butter in a large microwave safe bowl for about 1 minute. Use that same bowl to mix all of the ingredients. Add sugar and stir. Add eggs to the mixture and stir until creamy. Add salt, extracts, and flour.

Spread the batter into the pan. Sprinkle almonds evenly over the top of the batter, then sprinkle the sugar evenly over the almonds.

Bake for 40-45 minutes.

Serve as a cake or cut into little squares.

Makes 16 bars.

Melted butter

Stir in sugar

Stir in eggs

Stir in rest of ingredients

Spread in 9" pan

Add sliced almonds and sugar

Bake for 40-45 minutes

Fresh out of the oven

Cut into squares

Photos by JoJo