I have always loved hibiscus tea; its rich and tart flavor always hit the spot. These hibiscus muffins are tart and sweet, and a super fun spin on a classic muffin.
A few weeks ago, I came across a huge bag of dried hibiscus flowers and bought it on impulse. Now that I'm trying to cook and bake with just what I have in my pantry and trying to only go to the store when absolutely necessary, I'm looking to my pantry for insperation. I saw that bag of hibiscus and thought, hibiscus muffins!
I got my bag for super cheap on amazon.
Brewing the hibiscus:
To bring out the flavor in the hibiscus, soak the dried flowers need in boiling water with just a little bit of honey. Boil ½ cup of water and remove it from the heat. Add in the ½ cup of dried hibiscus and one tablespoon of honey. Let the leaves steep for 15 minutes and then add the leaves (disregarding the remaining water) to the finished batter.
THE MUFFINS:
On top of being delicious, these are super easy to make. This muffin is made like a cake by creaming together the butter and sugar. Then adding in the eggs and flour and milk (alternating between the two). You add the lemon zest to the milk and soaked hibiscus leaves to the finished batter. Super easy.
The Glaze:
These muffins are great on their own, but if you wish to have a little something special on top, this lemon and honey glaze is perfect. To make the glaze mix 1 cup powdered sugar, three tablespoons of honey, and juice from ½ lemon and mix until there are no lumps. Lightly (or heavily) drizzle the glaze over the cooled muffins and serve.
WANT MORE BREAKFAST IDEAS?!
If you’re looking for other options for a delicious breakfast, check these out:
Blueberry Muffins with Lemon and Cardamom
Brown Butter Bourbon Doughnuts
Bourbon & Blackberry Pop-Tarts
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Hibiscus Muffins
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
Ingredients
For the muffins:
- ½ cup boiling water
- ½ cup dried hibiscus flowers
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ½ cup softened butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ cup milk
- Zest and juice from 1 lemon
For the glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons honey
- Juice from ½ lemon
Instructions
For the muffins:
- Preheat the oven to 375.
- Bring ½ cup water to a boil. Remove from heat and add the honey and dried hibiscus flowers. Let steep 15 minutes.
- Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then add the eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined. Add in the vanilla.
- Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add the lemon juice and zest to the milk. Add the flour and milk mixtures into the butter and sugar mixture alternating between the two.
- Mix in the soaked hibiscus flowers, leaving any remaining water.
- Line a 12 cup standard muffin tin with cupcake liners, and fill with batter. Bake at 375 degrees for about 30-35 minutes.
Michelle says
Quick question.. Do you add in the liquid that you soaked the Hibiscus in or don't add it... Thanks
pate giltner says
Hi!! Just add the steeped flowers. Thanks so much for being interested in the recipe!
Anonymous says
Same question here? I'm also worried on adding lemon to the milk... will ruin it ?
Michelle G says
Mine did not come out that beautful purple the pics show...Any tips
pate giltner says
Hi! I’m so sorry they didn’t come out super vibrant! The color comes from the hibiscus so it really just comes down to the leaves. This is the exact flowers that I used to make the recipe. https://katenaturals.com/products/organic-hibiscus-flowers
Valora says
Hibiscus flowers give a pinkish hue, not purple. The recipe doesn't say to grind the dried flowers into a powder either, so natural color from the flowers wouldn't disperse into the batter. To achieve such a vibrant purple (especially on the outside which has browned from the heat of the oven), there's no question that food color of some type was added. It'd be nice to know what brand and color was used because the color is gorgeous. (But not natural, especially from the hibiscus.)
Pate Giltner says
Hi and thanks so much for being interested in these muffins! I didn't use any food coloring, the hibiscus I used died the batter that color, which was such a fun development. Here is a link to the hibiscus I used, it is also linked in the article https://www.amazon.com/Kate-Naturals-Delicious-Resealable-Guarantee/dp/B07FCB3545/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?crid=3NA7D1AM9U7CM&dchild=1&keywords=hibiscus+flowers&qid=1585600957&sprefix=hibiscus%2Caps%2C317&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUE2WUxKN0pYRUNDUCZlbmNyeXB0ZWRJZD1BMTAwMzEzOTI1M0VZS083QVUyRkUmZW5jcnlwdGVkQWRJZD1BMDI4MzA0NTFOVUtRV082M1NCNlkmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl. Have a great weekend!
bella says
do you think this would be any good with gluten free flour ?
Pate Giltner says
Hi! Im so sorry but I'm not an expert in gluten-free flours so I'm not 100% how it will turn out.
Donna says
I came across these muffins and wanted to try them as I am a huge fan of hibiscus, I read through the comments and agreed with the one where the color is just not right with the muffins in the pictures as hibiscus has more of a red hue than a purple color like is in the pictures. I luckily had two different brands of hibiscus to try these out with. Both batches came out the same. the batter had a light purple red color but not the deep purple in the pictures. There is a very lemony flavor to them that overpowers the hisbiscus flavor. I would also either grind up the hibiscus flowers or find a way to use the liquid only, as the texture of the flowers gives a very chewy, not pleasant texture to the muffins and the middle of the muffins only had a pink hue to them. A good recipe, just needs some tweaks- less lemon, find a way to use the tea from the flowers and not the flowers in the recipe or grind the flowers maybe swap the tea for the lemon juice that is required. I will keep playing with it and see what I come up with. But over all, is a good recipe- takes you out of your comfort zone and away from traditional blueberry/pumpkin/zuccini muffins. But I do agree with the other commentor, there is something off about the color in the picture in comparison to what the actual hibiscus color will produce.
Anonymous says
Agreed with the comments - to make a hibiscus muffin properly, you'd need to either grind the flowers or discard them, keep the water and reduce it, and then add to the batter.
But it won't give you the same colour as on the photo, because hibiscus has hints of pink, and when you're using eggs and butter you will get more of a yellowish colour, and certainly not that dark.
Hannah says
A little tweak and this came out a beautiful purple!!!! I tried this recipe the first time according the directions and it was a disappointment the muffins had a tiny bit of purple at best mixed into a regular cream muffin but….do this instead
1 ~grind the flowers in a coffee grinder till powdery
2 ~bring the milk to a boil and steep the hibiscus in that and add all liquid and flowers together to the batter.
End result is the beautiful purple color shown in the pictures!!!!! Plus, no chewy pieces of hibiscus flowers 🙂
Jacky says
Thank you for your idea of grinding the hibiscus flowers and steeping them in the hot milk. It made perfect sense and it worked out perfectly