If you are wondering where I have been for the last couple of weeks, let me just tell you that I have been working HARD on these lemon poppy seed muffins. I have made a batch nearly every single day trying to get the perfect balance of taste and texture. My freezer is stocked up, but I also ate entirely too many along the way (hello 8th month of pregnancy 😉 ) . These extra lemony poppy seed muffins have crispy edges and are topped with a sweet sugar coating. It is literally impossible to eat just one, and stopping at two proved quite difficult.
SOOOO Many Muffins
It took me a while to get to the texture I wanted, and I am honestly not sure this will be the final version of these muffins. There are a couple more tweaks that I’d like to experiment with, but they are wayyyyyyy too delicious to keep to myself any longer. If you are a fan of lemon poppy seed, I think you are going to seriously love these muffins. I can’t wait for you to give them a try! Most of the batches I experimented with had excellent flavor, but weren’t rising the way that I would expect with the amount of baking soda and baking powder I was using. I had to do a little research.
Acidic Batter
A full third of a cup of lemon juice make these muffins extra moist and lemony, but also comes with a price. All that acid affects the leavening process quite a bit and required that I throw everything that I knew about muffins out the window. I found this post on “Acidity in Cake” from The Cake Blog to be very helpful. The main things I learned where about the importance of baking soda for neutralizing the acidity of the batter, as well as adding the acid at the end of the mixing process to prevent unwanted chemical reactions. This is why the lemon zest and juice are added at the very end in this recipe.
I picked up another tip from Sally’s Baking Addiction that helped me reach the rise I was looking for in my lemon poppy seed muffins. Sally recommends starting the muffins at a high temperature for five minutes to get a jump-start on the rise, then reducing the temperature for the remainder of the baking time to cook the center. This proved to be very helpful with this recipe.
Not Your Healthiest Breakfast Option
Let’s be honest, most muffins are really cake in disguise. These muffins are meant to be sweet and delicious, and could easily replace a dessert. If you are looking for something a little healthier, try my Healthy Banana Oat Muffins.
Keep Me Posted!
Don’t forget to leave me a comment if you make these lemon poppy seed muffins. I’d love to hear what you think! Thanks for reading 🙂
Other muffin recipes:
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
Description
These extra lemony, moist poppy seed muffins have crispy edges and a crystalized sugar topping. Every bite is perfectly sweet and completely irresistible! Impossible to eat just one!
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons white granulated sugar
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- zest from 1 1/2 large lemons (MUST BE ADDED AT END OF MIXING, SEE INSTRUCTIONS)
- 1/3 cup lemon juice (about 1 1/2 large lemons) (MUST BE ADDED AT END OF MIXING, SEE INSTRUCTIONS)
Topping (optional)
- 1 tablespoon large sugar crystals
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Using non-stick cooking spray or butter, grease a 12 cup muffin pan.
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour, poppy seeds, baking soda, and salt).
- In a large mixing bowl, use a whisk to cream together the melted butter and sugar.
- Add in the eggs one at a time and whisk until fully incorporated, then mix in the vanilla and whole milk.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, adding a little at a time, and mix until everything is just combined and the dry ingredients are evenly coated. Do not overmix!
- As the final step, mix in the lemon zest and lemon juice until fully combined.
- Use a large cookie scoop to fill each cup of your muffin pan. Each cup should be filled about 2/3 full.
- Sprinkle the tops with large sugar crystals.
- Bake in oven on middle rack for 5 minutes at 400 degrees.
- Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and bake for 7 more minutes or until the muffins are fully cooked in the center (use a toothpick to test: insert a toothpick into the center of the muffin, it should be completely dry when removed)
- Remove the muffins from oven and place the pan directly on a wire cooling rack for 1-2 minutes or until the muffins are cool enough to handle.
- Using a butter knife or small spatula, remove each muffin from the pan and allow to continue cooling on the rack until ready to eat!
Notes
- Remember to add the lemon zest and juice at the very end of the mixing process. Otherwise your muffins will not rise correctly!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Muffins
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: lemon, poppy seed, muffins, breakfast, sweet
She made these for me. SO GOOD. They are dangerous! ????
★★★★★
This version is even better! I’m glad you liked them!! I don’t think Dylan is going to let me make lemon poppy seed muffins for a while ????.
These sound really good!
Thanks Susan!! I have been eating about three a day for the last couple of weeks ????.
AMAZING!! These are so delicious and the perfect amount of sweet. Even my very picky daughter really liked them. Thank you for this recipe. We will definitely make them again!!!
★★★★★
Yes!!! They are kid approved in my house as well. Thank you so much for making the muffins and for leaving a review. ❤️