When life gives you lemons, you can make lemonade, you can make limoncello, or you can make these Lemon Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins. While these are all really good options, there is only one best option. Can you guess which one that would be? If you picked the muffins you would be right! Because who doesn't love having a flavorful muffin for breakfast, for a mid-morning or afternoon snack, or even for a post workout boost? I thought I had a favorite go-to muffin until I tasted these gorgeous high domed, incredibly flavorful Lemon Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins. If you love a bakery style lemon muffin, the kind having a dense, yet tender crumb, perfect bursts of lemon flavor, a beautiful top lightly drizzled with a lemon glaze, and just the right amount of moistness, you are going to fall deeply, madly in love with these.
Not only is lemon is a refreshing flavor on a hot day, it also helps to brighten up cold, cloudy days. So these Lemon Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are great year-round!
Would you believe me if I told you the lemon flavor in the muffins comes only from lemon zest? Yes, it's true. Lemon juice is only used in the glaze.
The combination of butter, a neutral oil, and sour cream creates both a perfect texture and just the right amount of moistness in these muffins. The sugar helps to further boost the lemony flavor. And rubbing the lemon zest into the sugar helps to release all of that zesty lemon flavor into the batter. Once the batter is mixed together, it rests at room temperature for an hour. Defying the recommendations made by many other bakers. We all know pancake and crepe batters as well as cookie doughs benefit from a rest period, although muffin batters don't usually get this recommendation. But this one does.
So what else is different about these muffins? Is the baking temperature different? No, not really. They are baked in a 400 degree (F) preheated oven. The consistent high heat helps to create those swoonworthy sky high muffin tops. Is filling the cupcake papers different? Not really. But each cupcake paper contains about six tablespoons of batter, which should bring it all the way to the top. Using a large ice cream scoop helps to make evenly filled cupcake papers. So what's different about baking these muffins then? Instead of filling every muffin cavity with batter, every other cavity is filled. With a yield of ten muffins, you will bake only five muffins at a time. If your oven can fit two muffin tins, you can bake all ten muffins at the same time. Baking time ranges from 20-22 minutes.
The lemon glaze, made only with freshly squeezed lemon juice and confectionary sugar, can be assembled while the muffins are baking. The consistency of your glaze should be similar to a crepe batter. Not too thick and not too thin. Giving your glaze a bit of rest will help you decide if it has the consistency you desire. If it's too thick, add a little water or lemon juice. If it's too thin, add a little more confectionary sugar.
If you spoon or brush on the lemon glaze while the muffins are hot out of the oven, it will melt completely into the oven. Letting the muffins rest in the pan for 2-3 minutes and then for an additional 10+ minutes on a cooling rack will cool them down enough for the glaze to soak in as well as remain visible on top.
Having tasted the muffins with and without the glaze, they are good unglazed, but they are GREAT glazed.
Considering that it has felt like life has been giving us nothing but proverbial lemons for the past ten months, these Lemon Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are the perfect antidote to all the angst many of us have been feeling. If ever there was a muffin to bring some joy or to boost our spirits, it would be these. Never have we needed a muffin, especially these muffins, in our lives more. So yes, when life gives you lemons you really do need to make Lemon Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins!
Recipe
Lemon Glazed Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Makes 10 bakery-style beautiful muffins
Ingredients
Muffins
8 Tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
2 generous Tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (from 2-3 medium sized lemons)
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
3/8 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup (120g) sour cream
2 1/2 cups (310g) all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 Tablespoons poppy seeds
Glaze
1/2 cup plus 2 Tablespoons confectionary sugar
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Directions
Muffins
1. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, Kosher salt, and poppy seeds together in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
2. Combine the granulated sugar and lemons zest. Using your fingers, blend the sugar and zest together. Set aside.
3. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat butter for approximately 1 minutes.
4. Add in the sugar-lemon zest mixture. Beat for 2-3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
5. With the mixer speed on low, add in eggs, one at a time, beat until each is well-incorporated.
6. In separate additions, beat in the canola oil, vanilla and sour cream. Make certain each ingredient is fully incorporated until the next one is added.
7. In three additions, add in the dry ingredients. After the last addition is incorporated, beat the mixture on low for an additional 30 seconds.
8. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for one hour.
9. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F). Place five muffin cups in two cupcake pans, giving each muffin paper space from the other.
10. Using a large ice cream scoop, scoop the batter (about 6 generous Tablespoons) into each muffin tin.
11. Place muffin pans in the center of the oven and bake for 20-22 minutes or until the tops of the muffins are lightly golden, spring back to the touch and/or show very few crumbs attached to an inserted skewer. Note: Alternately bake one pan of muffins at a time.
12. Let muffins rest in pans for 3 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Let muffins cool for another 10 minutes before topping with the glaze.
Glaze
1. While the muffins are baking, make the glaze.
2. Whisk together the confectionary sugar and lemon juice until smooth and creamy. The mixture should be thick enough to remain on muffin when spooned on. Note: If mixture is too thin, add more confectionary sugar. If mixture is too thick, add a little water.
3. Spoon the glaze over each muffin.
4. Serve muffins at room temperature. Take a bite and let yourself get to a happy place!
Notes: (1) Store muffins in a sealed container or individually wrap in cellophane bags. Muffins will be delicious for up to 3 days. Alternately store the cooled muffins in a well sealed container in the freezer for up to 6 weeks. (2) This recipe was inspired by the Bakery Style Lemon Poppyseed Muffin recipe from ful-filled.