Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
You’re going to love these delicious lemon poppy seed muffins! They bake up light and fluffy and bursting with lemon flavour!
Muffins are one of the easiest things to bake, making them perfect for beginners. In fact, I am pretty sure they were the first thing we learned to bake all those years ago in Home Economics class!
Ever since, muffins are my go-to thing to bake when I want something sweet and in a hurry! Whether it be Morning Glory muffins for a quick breakfast or these extra yummy Banana Split muffins loaded with chocolate chips and cherries, I know I can get them ready and in the oven in just minutes.
These Lemon poppy seed muffins are a delicious treat that combines the zesty flavour of lemons with the light crunch of poppy seeds. These muffins are perfect for breakfast, brunch, or as a snack any time of day.
What you’ll love about this recipe:
Kitchen Tools You Will Need
- two medium sized mixing bowls
- wire whisk
- rasp (microplane grater) for zesting lemons
- rubber spatula
- dry and liquid measuring cups
- measuring spoons
Ingredients you will need:
- all purpose flour
- granulated sugar
- baking powder
- 1 large lemon
- butter milk (or soured milk)
- poppy seeds
- greek yogurt (our sour cream)
- vegetable oil (or melted butter)
- 2 large eggs
- Course sugar or confectioners sugar for dusting (optional)
How to make lemon poppy seed muffins
Full directions are in the recipe card below.
Step 5/6 – Add wet ingredients to dry and gently combine just until flour is incorporated and divide between 11 muffin tins (12 for smaller muffins) and bake for 20-24 minutes.
Tips
- Don’t skip the step of rubbing lemon zest into the sugar as this releases the oils of the zest into the sugar, infusing it with lemon flavour. This helps give these lemon poppy seed muffins extra lemony flavour.
- DO NOT OVER MIX. The first rule of muffin making is to not over mix the batter. Stop mixing as soon as the dry ingredients have disappeared into the wet. Over mixing results in dense, dry muffins.
- This recipe will make 11 medium sized muffins or 12 slightly smaller muffins. Do not be tempted to over fill (3/4 full is perfect) as they will take longer to make, and may not bake evenly resulting in a dryer more dense muffin.
- Use room temperature ingredients. Bring the milk, yogurt, and eggs out about 30 minutes before you begin. This will help ensure your ingredients blend well and result in a lighter, fluffier texture when baked.
- Let the muffins cool completely before storing. Any residual heat can cause them to get soggy when stored. Once completely cooled, store in an airtight container for up to 4 days or wrap and freeze for up to 2 months.
Easy substitutions
- To easily substitute butter milk, simply add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar to a 1 cup liquid measure and fill with milk of your choice (dairy or plant based) to the 1 cup line. Allow to set for 15 minutes to thicken.
- Don’t have greek yogurt? Substitute with an equal amount of sour cream.
- If you prefer not to use vegetable oil, you can substitute 1/2 cup butter, melted.
Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
These delicious lemon poppy seed muffins are perfect for bakers of all levels. They are moist and fluffy and bursting with lemon flavour.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
- zest from one large lemon
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup buttermilk or soured milk
- juice from half a lemon
- 2 tablespoons greek yogurt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- GLAZE
- juice of half a lemon
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line muffin tins with cupcake liners.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl rub lemon zest into the sugar with clean hands. Add oil, buttermilk, lemon juice, yogurt, eggs and vanilla to the sugar mixture. Whisk until well combined.
- Add wet ingredients to the flour mixture and mix gently just until flour is incorporated. Do not overmix.
- Using a scoop, fill lined muffin tins 3/4 full with batter. Bake for 20-24 minutes until toothpick inserted into the largest muffin comes out clean. Do not overbake.
- Remove from oven and cool for 2 or 3 minutes
- While muffins are cooling, combine the lemon juice and sugar, and brush each muffin top with glaze. Sprinkle with course sugar if you like. Allow to cool an additional 3 minutes before removing each muffin and transferring to a cooling rack.
- Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.
More Muffin and Quick Bread Recipes
These recipes are equally easy to make and full of delicious flavour.
Is the 275 oven temperature correct? I can’t wait to try these!
Oh gosh! Thanks for catching that Kristi! It is in fact 375 degrees, and I have made the correction. Hope you enjoy them as much as we do 🙂