These lemon poppyseed muffins are super soft, bright and lemony. Perfect for quick snack or a delicious breakfast treat on the go!
I adapted my Starbucks Blueberry Muffin recipe to make these muffins and after a couple rounds of testing, they’re AMAZING! I know it’s a basic muffin flavour but we all need to have a good go-to recipe for them right?
First of all, they’re so soft?? Touching the crumb felt so velvety! And they bake so tall, I’m so proud.
The lemon flavour comes through so beautifully and the crunch from the poppyseeds is so addictive! They’re also brushed with a lemon glaze or syrup right after baking which adds another depth of lemony flavour!
If you like these lemon muffins, try out these Triple Chocolate Muffins, these Starbucks Blueberry Muffins and this amazing Starbucks Lemon Loaf!
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Ingredients
See recipe card BELOW for measurements.
- White granulated sugar
- Lemon zest
- Large eggs
- Lemon juice
- Lemon extract
- Plain yogurt
- Buttermilk - you can do use a milk + vinegar substitute instead (details below!)
- Neutral flavoured oil
- Unsalted melted butter - no bid deal if you use salted butter instead
- All-purpose flour
- Poppy seeds
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Powdered sugar
Instructions
This recipe is quite straightforward and easy to follow! The hardest part in my opinion is waiting for the batter to rest for at least half an hour before baking. Having to wait longer before being able to have a muffin? Much patience is needed.
- Massage lemon zest and sugar to extract the citrus oils in the peel. Use your hands, a spatula or in a food processor! The sugar will take on a yellow colour.
- In a large bowl, Beat the egg and the lemon sugar until it’s light and pale. Add in the yogurt, buttermilk, oil, melted butter, lemon juice and lemon extract. Mix until combined.
- In a small bowl, mix together the flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add to the wet ingredients and gently mix with a spatula until JUST combined. Don't over mix it please. They'll turn out dense and tough.
- Scoop the batter into parchment lined muffin tins (or just greased really well), filling them to the top and let them sit for at 30 mins to an hour. This helps them achieve a higher rise as they bake. See tips below to achieve taller muffins!
- Preheat the oven to 425°F while the muffins are resting. Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F and then reduce the heat to 350°F after 5 minutes with the muffins still in the oven. Bake for a total of 18-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with just a few crumbs. They'll be on the drier side if you wait until the toothpick comes out clean.
- Make the lemon syrup while the muffins are baking. Add sugar and lemon juice to a small saucepan and cook over medium high heat until it comes to a boil. Turn off the heat and let it cool slightly.
- When the muffins are out of the oven and are still warm, generously brush the tops with the lemon syrup. Cool the muffins on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes and enjoy!
Hint: You can add the dry ingredients directly to the wet ingredients. To ensure everything mixes well, add the flour first and then the baking powder, baking soda, salt and poppy seeds and mix into the flour itself. Then gently mix into the rest of the batter.
Substitutions
- Buttermilk - You can make a buttermilk substitute with milk and vinegar! The measurements are listed below in the FAQ and the notes at the end of the recipe card.
Equipment
- Muffin pan size - You can make 6 jumbo muffins or 12 regular muffins! I like using this jumbo muffin pan and this 12 muffin pan. In general, I recommend using a lighter coloured pan instead of a darker one. Darker pans tend to absorb more heat which can darken the bottom and sides of the muffins.
Storage
Let them cook down fully before placing in an airtight container. Store at room temp for about 1-2 weeks!
My top tips to make these lemon and poppy seed muffins
- Don't over mix: Make sure not to over-mix the batter once you add the dry ingredients. This can lead to overdeveloping the gluten, which will result in tough and dense muffins.
- Massage lemon zest with sugar: Doing so will help increase the lemon flavour as it extracts the citrus oils from the lemon peel. I highly recommend doing this!
- Let batter rest: Let the batter rest for at least 30 minutes to an hour before baking. This helps the flour hydrate, making the batter thicker. However, if your baking powder is not double acting (or if the using aluminum free kind) I recommend baking them right away. The baking powder will start reacting with the liquid right away, so letting it rest would result in a weaker rise.
- For taller muffins: Leave every other muffin tin empty. A muffin pan with 12 tins, should have 6 filled and 6 empty. Each muffin would have an empty tin on each side.
- If you only have 1 muffin pan, you would need to bake them in 2 batches. I recommend leaving the batter in the bowl and letting it rest there, instead of in the tins. After 30 mins- 1 hour, simply scoop the batter without disturbing it much and plop into the muffin tins, all the way to the top.
- If you only have 1 muffin pan, you would need to bake them in 2 batches. I recommend leaving the batter in the bowl and letting it rest there, instead of in the tins. After 30 mins- 1 hour, simply scoop the batter without disturbing it much and plop into the muffin tins, all the way to the top.
FAQ
Lucky for you, there's no need to skip it! All you need to do is use a milk + vinegar substitute. Take ½ cup of milk (120ml) and remove ½ tablespoon of milk. Replace it with ½ tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice, stir and let it sit for 5-10 minutes until it curdles and thickens!
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cup granulated white sugar (250g)
- Zest from 2 lemons
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ¾ cup plain yogurt (190g)
- ½ cup buttermilk* (118ml)
- ⅓ cup neutral oil (78ml)
- ¼ cup unsalted melted butter (56g)
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice (28g)
- 1 teaspoon lemon extract
- 2 ½ cup all-purpose flour (345g)
- 2 ½ tablespoon poppy seeds (22g)
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
Lemon Glaze
- 3 tablespoon powdered sugar (37g)
- 3 tablespoon lemon juice (42g)
Instructions
- Massage the lemon zest with the sugar for a few minutes to extract the oils. This helps enhance the citrus flavour. The sugar will take on a pale yellow colour.1 ¼ cup granulated white sugar, Zest from 2 lemons
- Beat the egg and the lemon sugar until it’s light and pale. Add in the yogurt, buttermilk, oil, melted butter, lemon juice and lemon extract. Mix until combined.2 large eggs, room temperature, 2 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 teaspoon lemon extract, ¾ cup plain yogurt, ½ cup buttermilk*, ⅓ cup neutral oil, ¼ cup unsalted melted butter
- In another bowl, mix together the flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda and salt.2 ½ cup all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 2 ½ tablespoon poppy seeds, ¾ teaspoon salt
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently mix until combined. Don’t over-mix the batter in order to prevent the muffins from turning out tough.
- Scoop the batter into parchment lined regular muffin tins, filling them to the top and let them sit for at 30 mins to an hour. This helps them achieve a higher rise as they bake.- To get taller muffins leave every other muffin tin empty. So a muffin pan with 12 tins, should have 6 filled and 6 empty. Each muffin would have an empty tin on each side.- If you only have 1 muffin pan, you would need to bake them in 2 batches. I recommend leaving the batter in the bowl and letting it rest there, instead of in the tins. After 30 mins- 1 hour, simply scoop the batter without disturbing it much and plop into the muffin tins, all the way to the top.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F while the muffins are resting.
- Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F and then reduce the heat to 350°F after 5 minutes with the muffins still in the oven. Bake for a total of 18-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out with just a few crumbs.
- While the muffins are baking, make the lemon syrup. Add the sugar and lemon juice to a small saucepan and cook over medium high heat until it comes to a boil. Turn off the heat and let it cool slightly.3 tablespoon powdered sugar, 3 tablespoon lemon juice
- When the muffins are out of the oven and are still warm, generously brush the tops with the lemon syrup. Cool the muffins on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes and enjoy!
Maha says
Hi thank you for the recipe.. by the way, i couldn’t find the measurements for lemon poppy seed muffins