Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
If I had to pick my favorite muffin, this would probably be it – I’m a sucker for the lemon poppyseed combo! I like mine a bit on the lighter, cakier side, so that’s what you’ll get with this recipe.
There are a few steps that you may be tempted to shrug off, but do not be tempted! Firstly, really work the zest into the sugar to extract the natural oils. This will help amplify the lemon flavor. Speaking of, after testing this recipe WAY too many times to get it perfect, I came to the conclusion that a touch of lemon extract was necessary to really help boost and round out the lemon flavor. Secondly, to achieve the right crumb, you really need to let the batter rest for the recommended 30 minutes. This will allow the baking soda to activate. If you skip this step, you’ll only yield around 12 muffins and they’ll be dense and flat on top. Finally, you want to pull these out of the oven as soon as they’re set and a few moist crumbs are present when inserting a toothpick into the center of the muffins to make sure they’re nice and moist!
Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 cup 200g granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest, (from 2 medium lemons)
- 2 ½ cups 300g all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until barely warm
- ½ cup whole milk, room temperature
- ½ cup sour cream, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice, (from about 1 medium lemon)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon lemon extract
Instructions
- Line standard-sized cupcake pans with 16 liners and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, massage the sugar and lemon zest to release the natural oils, until the mixture is the consistency of wet sand.
- Add the flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda and salt and whisk until well combined.
- In another large bowl, whisk the eggs until smooth.
- Add the melted butter, milk, sour cream, olive oil, lemon juice, vanilla and lemon extract and whisk until emulsified and well combined..
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400-degrees.
- Divide the batter evenly into the prepared cupcake pans, dividing the batter evenly and filling each liner almost to the top.
- Bake until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs when inserted into the center of the muffins, about 14 minutes.
- Carefully, transfer the hot muffins to a cooling rack and serve warm or cooled.
- Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
