Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins Recipe

A lemon poppy seed muffin with lemon glaze on a small plate.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins Recipe

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are a bakery-style breakfast treat that comes together easily with simple ingredients and minimal effort. Don’t forget to drizzle the tangy lemon glaze on top!

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Servings muffins

Calories 301kcal

Author John Kanell

Equipment

Muffin pan
Mixing Bowls

Ingredients

For the Muffins:

2½ cups all-purpose flour (300g)
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 cup sugar (200g)
2 tablespoons lemon zest
1 cup whole milk greek yogurt (240g)
⅓ cup whole milk (80ml)
½ cup unsalted butter melted (113g)
2 large eggs (110g)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

For the Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar (120g)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions

For the Muffins:

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk in poppy seeds and salt.
In another large bowl, combine the sugar and lemon zest. Working with your hands, rub zest into sugar until well combined and the sugar feels damp. Add the yogurt, milk, melted butter, eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and fold just until combined. (The batter will be thick.) Divide the batter evenly among the paper liners.
Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove the muffins and finish cooling on a wire rack.

For the Glaze:

In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Drizzle over cooled muffins.

Video

Notes

Use the right kind of yogurt. Greek yogurt is thicker than regular yogurt. A classic plain yogurt is too runny and will add too much moisture to your batter, causing the muffin tops to spread more than puff. If you don’t have Greek yogurt, a thicker yogurt like skyr or full-fat sour cream will work great in this recipe.
If you don’t have fresh lemons, 2½ teaspoons of lemon extract can be used in place of the lemon zest. Substitute the lemon juice in the batter for 2½ teaspoons of water mixed with ½ teaspoon white vinegar. (Don’t worry! You can’t taste the vinegar in the baked muffins!) Use milk, water, or another citrus juice for the glaze.
Use a spring-loaded scoop to fill muffin liners with batter for evenly sized muffins. A heaping ¼ cup scoop fits my muffin cups perfectly.

Nutrition