Lemon and Poppy Seeds Muffins

What a great weekend we just had!! We left Friday afternoon, took a 4 hour drive to meet my brother, his girlfriend, my cousin, her boyfriend for a weekend in the country!! We laughed, we walked, we swam, we drank (a bit!) and, of course, we ate a lot!!

I brought along 2 mexican lasagnas (delicious) and, of course, brought some muffins! I knew my cousin loves lemon muffins so decided to make joythebaker's lemon poppy seed muffins! She loved them!





Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins (my changes in red)


2/3 cup granulated sugar
zest and juice of 1 lemon (used two lemons)
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk or sour cream (used low-fat natural yogurt)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 stick (8 Tablespoons) butter, melted until browned and cooled
2 Tablespoons poppy seeds (would use more next time)
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar (for topping the batter before baking)

For the Glaze
1 cup powdered sugar whisked together with 2 or 3 Tablespoons of lemon juice

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 12 mold, regular sized muffin tray with paper muffin liners, place the muffin pan on a baking sheet and set aside.

In a large bowl, rub the granulated sugar with the lemon zest until the sugar is lightly colored and scented with lemon. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a medium sized bowl whisk together the eggs, buttermilk (or sour cream) vanilla extract, melted butter and lemon juice.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold together. When almost thoroughly mixed, add the poppy seeds. Divide batter between muffin cups. Sprinkle each would be muffing with granulated sugar.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until the tops are golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean.

Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing. If you’re freezing the cupcakes for future eating, skip the glaze. It doesn’t freeze well.