Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
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These Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are light, fluffy, and bursting with poppyseeds and fresh lemon juice. A perfect snack when you are craving something sweet. These will definitely brighten your day!
Are you a lemon fan like I am? Great, because these will be right up your alley. I have a couple of guys that don’t love lemon so much, but one that does. My youngest son and I happen to be BIG lemon lovers, and that is enough for me to make all the lemon recipes. So if you are in agreement, we can be friends. 😀
In the old days, I used a poppyseed muffin recipe that involved a yellow cake mix, a LOT of sugar and butter, and poppy seeds. So this one is made using much less sugar, some cake flour for extra poof, lots of fresh lemon juice, and of course, poppy seeds. I’d much rather taste the lemon in this recipe, as opposed to having a rush of sugar. Wouldn’t you?
Lemon Poppy Seed Muffin Ingredients:
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to buy at the grocery store:
- unsalted butter – so we can control the salt
- buttermilk – perfect for muffins
- eggs and vanilla
- FRESH lemon juice and zest – from actual lemons!
- combo of brown and granulated sugars
- CAKE flour – for that extra poof (but you CAN use regular flour too)
- baking soda, baking powder, and salt
- and poppy seeds, of course
The wet ingredients go in one bowl, the dry in the other. Combine, and spoon into the muffin tins. Fill them all the way to the top! So simple.
A few things you might need:
- Use a citrus press
and lemon zester
to get all that lemon flavor.
- And I LOVE this USA Muffin Pan
(actually made in the USA) and these cupcake liners
too.
The lemon glaze is purely optional. You don’t need it, but a little bit goes a long way.
The glaze is just two ingredients.
- fresh lemon juice
- powdered sugar
I used two large lemons for this entire recipe, and didn’t actually need all of the juice/zest.
Lemon lovers unite! Enjoy. 😀
Make these muffins next: Yogurt Glazed Blueberry Muffins
Please let know if you try this recipe. Be sure to comment and leave a review on the blog so I can see what you think. You can also like my Facebook Page, follow me on Pinterest, and catch me on Instagram.
xoxo ~Sue
Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Ingredients
For the muffins:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter - melted and cooled
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup half and half
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice - from one large lemon
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups cake flour - or all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
For the glaze:
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice - freshly squeezed
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare a 12-cup muffin pan with liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the wet ingredients - the melted and slightly cooled butter, eggs, buttermilk, fresh lemon juice and zest, and vanilla.
- In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients - the cake flour (or all-purpose), sugars, poppy seeds, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Pour the the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, and mix until just combined. Don't over-mix.
- Spoon the muffin batter into the prepared muffin tins, filling all the way to the top. Bake for 14 - 16 minutes, or until the center is done.
- Remove muffins to cooling rack.
- Prepare glaze by combining the fresh lemon juice with powdered sugar. Drizzle then glaze over the slightly warm muffins. EAT!
Notes
- Cake flour makes these muffins super lighter, but all-purpose flour works as well.
- These are best the first day, but you can store them on your counter for a few days.
- You can freeze these muffins (without glaze) for up to three months.
Hi I haven’t made this yet but I’m excited to try! Many cookie/cupcake recipes I’ve seen call for the sugar and butter to be whisked together to a creamy consistency. Is there a reason not to do so here? Just curious if there’s a specific piece of chemistry behind it impacting muffin texture/taste! Thanks!!
Hi Kelly. Creaming the butter and sugars together using softened (but not melted) butter creates more air and thus, a lighter consistency. Using melted butter creates a somewhat more course crumb, but in these muffins, that works. You could actually use either method, depending on what you prefer – a light crumb or a slightly more course crumb. Let me know what you decide to try! 🙂
I am more of a chocolate kinda guy, but I love this recipe! So good! Highly recommend and I would do the Lemon Glaze. It takes the recipe into the 5 star plus range!
That’s sweet of you to say! Mwah!
I love lemon and poppy seeds together! These muffins look amazing ♥
Oh thanks Natalie! 🙂