I love that something so bright and sunny as lemons come into season here in Arizona right in the middle of winter. I was so inspired by the trees all around me, heavy with ripening fruit, to make these Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins. These extra fluffy, slightly sweet poppy seed studded muffins with their cap of tart lemon glaze are the perfect match for a steaming hot cup of tea on a cold winter morning.
These Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins have a wonderfully light texture, which comes from the acidity of the buttermilk, reacting with the baking powder and baking soda to create tiny air bubbles in the batter. While some poppy seed muffins can be dense in texture, these are light and perfectly moist.
The muffins themselves are slightly sweet and mildly lemon flavored, but when paired with the tangy, sweet powdered sugar lemon glaze, the combination is just perfect. So definitely don’t skip the glaze!
It can be difficult to get a balanced lemon flavor in baked goods. I like to use the zest and juice of the lemon, as well as some lemon flavored extract. Not all lemons have the same tartness and acidity, and I like to give the flavor a little extra boost with the extract.
Here’s a little tip when working with grocery store bought lemons in baked goods. They will usually come with a thin layer of wax to keep them shiny, so I like to run them under very hot water to melt the wax and then scrub them firmly before using a microplane to zest. To get the most juice from a lemon, warm it up in the microwave for 10 seconds, and then roll it on the counter while applying pressure with the heel of your hand. When it is sliced open, it should release its juices more freely.
After the muffins have baked and mostly cooled, the tops are dipped into the glaze. It will set within minutes, and then I find that it is best to store leftover muffins at room temperature in a vented container. If they are stored in an airtight container, the glaze will become soft and wet. If you would like to freeze the muffins, be sure to wait until they are thawed and ready to serve before adding the glaze.
I hope you all enjoy this bright and sunny Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Muffin recipe and that they bring warmth and coziness to your day. Thank you for following and baking along with me here at Lovely Little Kitchen. I’m excited for another year of learning and sharing together in 2021!
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PrintGlazed Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
These fluffy Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are the perfect match for a steaming hot cup of tea on a cold winter morning.
Ingredients
For the Muffins
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup oil (canola, vegetable, or avocado)
- 2 eggs
- zest of one lemon
- 2 teaspoons lemon extract
For the Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2–3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
For the Muffins
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Line a standard-size muffin tin with paper liners and spray the liners with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds. Set aside.
- In another bowl, whisk together by hand the buttermilk, oil, eggs, lemon zest, and lemon extract.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together with the buttermilk mixture until everything is incorporated. Do not over mix.
- Scoop the batter into the muffin wells, dividing the batter evenly. The muffin liners will be full. This will create nice puffy muffin tops.
- Bake the muffins at 400 degrees for 20-22 minutes or until the tops are just beginning to brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Remove the muffins from the tin to cool.
For the Glaze
- In a small bowl, whisk powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice. Add a tiny bit more lemon juice if needed, until the glaze drips off the whisk in one continuous ribbon instead of large globs.
- Dip each muffin top into the glaze, allow excess to drip off, and then let the glaze set.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Muffin
- Calories: 304
- Sugar: 27g
- Sodium: 254mg
- Fat: 11g
- Saturated Fat: 1.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8.7g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 48g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 4.6g
- Cholesterol: 32mg
Sarah Steffen says
After testing many lemon poppyseed muffin recipes, this one is my very favourite!
Michael van Nieuwenhuize says
Hi! Do you have any advice on cooking time if I make these in a mini muffin pan?