Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are moist muffins made with lemon juice, lemon zest, and poppy seeds and then topped with a lemon glaze. If you love lemon desserts, be sure to try my Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream.
Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Poppy seeds are seeds from the poppy plant that are used a lot in recipes, including these muffins. Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins have a soft crumb with a super simple (but flavorful) lemon glaze on top. They are a perfect start to your day with a cup of coffee or for a snack.
Poppy Seed Muffin Ingredients
Room Temperature Ingredients: Using room temperature ingredients (butter, eggs, yogurt) will help you get the best results when baking these muffins (and other recipes that call for room temperature ingredients). Butter is at room temperature at 65°F. Don’t put it in the microwave to soften it; simply cut it up into small pieces and let it sit out if you forgot to take it out of the refrigerator.
Lemon Flavor: Both lemon juice and lemon zest are added to the muffin batter for that lemon flavor. More lemon juice is added to the glaze for even more lemon taste in every bite!
Poppy Seeds: As stated above, poppy seeds come from the poppy plant. They are used quite a bit in food. Find them in your nearest grocery store or supermarket. They give a little added crunch and flavor to the muffins.
Glaze: The glaze is so simple to make, yet adds a little lemon zing to the muffins. All you need is some more lemon juice and confectioners’ sugar.
How to Store Muffins
There are a few ways to properly store muffins.
- Room Temperature: Because they are best enjoyed at room temperature, this is usually the recommended way to storing. I use a larger sealable plastic bag or an airtight container to store the muffins in a single layer. Some folks recommend adding a piece of paper towel to the bottom so that it will soak up any condensation. If your muffins are properly cooled before storing, this may not be necessary. However, if I am using an airtight container, I will often add a piece of bread to the container, torn in half, and fit in between the muffins. The bread will soak up moisture as well. Best enjoyed within 2-3 days.
- Refrigerator: (Refrigeration, in general, dries out baked goods faster so a typical muffin recipe shouldn’t be refrigerated.) Place in a sealable plastic bag or airtight container and then place into the refrigerator. They should keep for up to 5 days. To reheat, remove from refrigerator pop into the microwave for 10 seconds or just allow muffin to come to room temperature naturally, about 15 minutes.
- Freezer: Place cooled muffins into a freezer-safe sealable plastic bag or a freezer-safe airtight container and pack as closely as possible without crushing. Remove as much air as possible. Label with date and recipe name.
How to Reheat Frozen Muffins
Remove muffin from the freezer and allow to come to room temperature overnight in the refrigerator or on the counter for a couple of hours.
More Muffin Recipes
Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Ingredients
Muffins
- 1½ cups (187.5 g) all-purpose flour, plus 2 tablespoons
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup (1 stick, 113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1½ tablespoons lemon zest
- 1½ teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup (143 g) plain Greek yogurt
- 1½ tablespoons poppy seeds
Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup (125 g) confectioners' sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Instructions
Muffins
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Whisk to combine.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- To the butter and sugar mixture, add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Mix in the lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla.
- With the mixer on low, alternate adding some of the flour mixture with Greek yogurt, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
- Fold in the poppy seeds until just incorporated.
- Divide the batter evenly between the 12 muffin cups, filling each about ⅔ full. (A 2-tablespoon scoop works great for this.)
- Bake 15-20 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean with a few crumbs but no wet batter. Allow them to cool for a few minutes before removing them from the muffin tin.
- Let the muffins cool on a rack for about 10 minutes before adding the glaze.
Lemon Glaze
- In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar and lemon juice until smooth.
- Top the warm muffins with lemon glaze.
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
This recipe was adapted from Browned Butter Blonde’s Lemon Poppy Seed Cake.
Miss Amanda, do you have a good cranberry muffin recipe? That is, if you like cranberries. Thank you!
Oh, these lemon poppy seed muffins look just delicious. That lemon glaze is what steals the show for me and makes my mouth water. Plus, I totally have a weakness for poppy seeds in deserts. Wonderful recipe, Amanda!