Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Have you ever taken a big bite out of a hamantasch, the traditional three-cornered pastry eaten at Purim time, thinking that it was prune-filled only to realize that it was actually mohn or poppy seed. Although poppy seed continues to be the most popular filling for hamantaschen, my personal preference is for anything but mohn. But these muffins are the exception to that rule. Lemon poppy seed muffins are an anytime treat that are a ray of sunshine in the cold winter months. Every moist, tender bite is bursting with bright citrusy flavor and the satisfying crunch of poppy seeds.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Poppy seeds are an oilseed obtained from the opium poppy, widely used in many countries as an ingredient in a variety of foods including pastry and bread. On Purim, eating poppy seeds, known in Yiddish as mohn, is not only a play on words that reminds us of the evil antagonist in the Book of Esther named Haman, but also commemorates the great sacrifices made by the righteous Queen Esther who ate seeds and nuts in the palace in order to observe the laws of kashrut and merit Divine blessing. It seems that sending lemon poppy seed muffins in my mishloach manot all these years was even more fitting than I realized. Please enjoy this recipe by Dorie Greenspan published in Baking: From My Home to Yours, not only on Purim but all year round.

Assemble your ingredients. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Spray 12 muffin cups with cooking spray or line them with muffin papers. In a large bowl, measure out the sugar and grate the lemon rind over the sugar. Rub the lemon rind through the sugar with your fingers. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to the bowl. Set the mixture aside.

Squeeze the fresh lemon juice. Melt the butter in a large glass measuring cup or bowl in the microwave. Whisk in the sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, eggs, lemon juice and vanilla until well blended.

Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and using a wooden spoon or spatula, quickly combine the two. Stir in the poppy seeds. Divide the batter as evenly as possible in the prepared muffin cups. I use an ice cream scoop to do this. Bake for 18-20 minutes on the middle rack of the oven. My muffins were done in 18 minutes. A skewer inserted into a baked muffin should emerge with just a few dry crumbs clinging to it. Allow the muffins to cool on a baking rack. When the muffins are completely cool drizzle them with the icing mixture.

Print Recipe

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Breakfast, Bread and Muffins

By Dorie Greenspan, published in Baking: From My Home to Yours – Serves: 11 or 12

Prep Time: 15 minutes – Cooking Time: 18 minutes – Total Time: 33 minutes

Tender and moist lemony muffins flecked with crunchy poppy seeds.

Ingredients

• For the Muffins:
• 2/3 cup sugar
• Grated zest and 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 or plain Greek yogurt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, (1 stick), melted and cooled
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• For the Icing:
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions

1

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Spray 12 muffin cups with cooking spray or line them with muffin papers.

2

In a large bowl, measure out the sugar and grate the lemon rind over the sugar. Rub the lemon rind through the sugar with your fingers. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt to the bowl. Set the mixture aside.

3

Squeeze the fresh lemon juice. Melt the butter in a large glass measuring cup or bowl in the microwave. Whisk in the sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla until well blended.

4

Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and using a wooden spoon or spatula, quickly combine the two. Stir in the poppy seeds.

5

Divide the batter as evenly as possible in the prepared muffin cups. I use an ice cream scoop to do this. Bake for 18-20 minutes on the middle rack of the oven. A skewer inserted into a baked muffin should emerge with just a few dry crumbs clinging to it.

6

Allow the muffins to cool on a baking rack.

To ice the muffins:

7

Combine the icing sugar and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in a small bowl. The icing will be quite thick. Add the rest of the lemon juice one teaspoon at a time until the icing is thin enough to drizzle from the tip of a spoon. Drizzle the icing over the muffins, waving the spoon back and forth to create lines.

Notes

These muffins freeze very well. Poppy seeds should be stored in the refrigerator to keep them fresh.