Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

Let's talk muffins: the sinful, breakfast cousins of cupcakes. Delicious, filling, and an all around diet killer.

Lemon Blueberry Poppyseed Muffins a la Joy

I find it incredibly hard to say no to a good muffin. The muffin craving is one that simply cannot be satisfied with anything else.

So how about we all agree that this weekend we are going to whip up a batch of delicious homemade muffins, enjoy them thoroughly, and fulfill our muffin quota for the month of July. You're up for it?! Excellent!

I stumbled upon these muffins from Joy the Baker that was a happy marriage of blueberry, lemon poppyseed, and coffee crumb muffins. They were AMAZING. I encourage you to make these and share with anyone whose good side you're looking to stay on.

Given my abundance of poppyseeds, I decided to take the above muffin inspiration and dial it down (per the BFs request) to a traditional lemon poppyseed muffin. The results were fresh, fluffy, delicious Lemon Poppyseed Muffins. I encourage you to give these a try for your weekend of muffin-y bliss. A real crowd pleaser!

Here's what you need (for 12 muffins):

The flavor agents

1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
7 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon fresh squeeze lemon juice (do NOT use the bottled stuff)
1/3 cup whole milk
zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons poppyseeds

Here's what you do:

In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt your butter until slightly browned and aromatic. It will bubble and crackle. Stir occasionally to prevent any from crusting on the bottom of the pan. Once all the butter is melted, immediately transfer to a small bowl to allow it to cool.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk the milk, egg, egg yolk, and almond extract (side note: I am currently obsessed with almond extract. I've been replacing everything "vanilla extract" with the almond variety. It's just so good! But feel free to use vanilla if you have that on hand.). Getting an egg separated is NOT as hard as it looks. It takes a slightly light hand, but just be sure to get a good first crack that is slightly off-center. Having one side of shell smaller than another will help drain the whites out faster. When the butter has cooled a bit, whisk that into the egg mixture.

In one step, add the wet ingredients to the dry. Using a rubber spatula, blend well.
Gently fold in the poppyseeds and lemon zest.

Scoop an even amount of the batter into a muffin tin lined with paper liners. I'd recommend using a small ice cream scoop or a 1/4 measuring cup. This ensures the muffins cook evenly!

Bake in a preheated 375 degree oven for 15 to 20 minutes. They are done when the tops are a golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes.

Serve immediately, or store in an airtight container for a max of 3 days. I'd recommend giving them a zap in the microwave for about 10 seconds on day 3.

So, here's the deal. Super easy. Super delicious. Super sinful. BUT--don't you feel a little bit better, given that these babies are homemade, with love? I thought so.

MUFFINS!