Description
Tangy-sweet and tender, lemon poppy seed muffins topped with a sweet lemon icing make for a special breakfast treat that tastes like it came from a bakery.
Ingredients
- 1 and 3/4 cups (219g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup (50g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120g) sour cream or plain yogurt, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons fresh lemon zest
- 3 Tablespoons (45ml) fresh lemon juice
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (see Note about adding lemon extract)
- 1/4 cup (60ml) milk (any kind), at room temperature
Lemon Icing
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons (22ml) lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon (15ml) milk (any kind)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C). Spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with cupcake liners. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds together. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, and brown sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, sour cream, vanilla extract, lemon zest, and lemon juice. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute, then turn up to high speed and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Mixture may look a little chunky and curded; that’s ok.
- With the mixer running on low speed, add the dry ingredients and milk into the wet ingredients and beat until no flour pockets remain.
- Spoon the batter evenly into each muffin cup or liner. Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425°F then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 15–17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 20–22 minutes. Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.
- Make the icing: Whisk all of the icing ingredients together and drizzle over warm or cooled muffins.
- Cover and store leftover muffins for up to 3 days at room temperature or up to 1 week in the refrigerator.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: For longer storage, freeze muffins (with or without icing) for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 12-count Muffin Pan | Cupcake Liners | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Citrus Juicer | Citrus Zester | Cooling Rack
- For a jumbo muffin pan: 425°F for 5 minutes, then reduce to 350°F for 22–25 minutes for a total of 27–30 minutes. Makes about 6. For mini muffins: 350°F (whole time) for 12–14 minutes. Makes about 36–40.
- Can I Use Chia Seeds Instead of Poppy Seeds? Yes. Replace the same amount of poppy seeds in the batter with chia seeds.
- Vanilla & Lemon Extracts: If you prefer a stronger lemon flavor, you can replace half of the vanilla with lemon extract. (So, use 3/4 teaspoon each vanilla and lemon extracts.)
- Milk: You can use any milk, dairy or nondairy.
- Why is everything at room temperature? All refrigerated items should be at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly.
- Can I Add Berries? Yes. You can fold about 1 and 1/2 cups (about 200g-250g) of fresh or frozen berries (do not thaw) into the batter before spooning into the pan and baking. I actually have a recipe for blackberry lemon poppy seed muffins which is very similar to today’s recipe, as well as a lemon blueberry muffins recipe. You can add 1 to 2 Tablespoons of poppy seeds to that batter if desired.
- Can I Make This Into a Bread? I find the best success when using this slightly different recipe for lemon poppy seed quick bread. I also have a recipe for a slightly denser lemon pound cake loaf. You can add 1 to 2 Tablespoons of poppy seeds to that batter if desired.
Keywords: lemon poppy seed muffins