DELICIOUS Lemon Poppy Seed Muffin Recipe

Last week I had a meeting with a few friends for a committee we serve on together. We met at my friend, Gabe's house and she had the MOST delish lemon poppy seed muffins I've ever tasted. I mean really, they were melt-in-your-mouth heaven.

After our meeting I went home and all I could do was think of those yummy muffins. So, I asked Gabe for the recipe. Lucky for me, she emailed it to me that evening and the next day I made them. Are you starting to get the picture? Yummy, I tell you!

Here is Gabe's recipe and a photo of the yummier than yummo muffins. Hint: the fresh lemon zest and juice are the secret! By the way, I know it is poor writing to use the word "yummy" or some form of it 4 or 5 times in one post but I'm telling you, I just couldn't help myself.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins (makes 12 standard size muffins):

For the muffins:

2/3 cup sugar
Grated zest 2 lemons
Juice of 1 lemon
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Directions:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan with paper muffin cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of lemon strong.

Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and melted butter together until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough; a few lumps are better than over-mixing the batter. Stir in the poppy seeds.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold. Cool the muffins completely on the rack before icing them.

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For the Icing:

1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

To make the icing:

Put the confectioners' sugar in a small bowl and add about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the lemon juice. Stir with a spoon to moisten the sugar, then add enough lemon juice, a dribble at a time, to get an icing that is thin enough to drizzle from the tip of the spoon. Then drizzle lines of icing over the tops of the muffins or coat the tops entirely.