Greek Yogurt: The addition of greek yogurt creates a tender texture and helps keep the muffins from being dry. You can use your favorite brand of plain greek yogurt, just make sure it’s not non-fat. A whole milk yogurt between 2 and 5 percent works best. Don’t let it be too runny, a good thick yogurt is ideal.

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Sift together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk in the poppy seeds.

2. Combine sugar and lemon zest in a large bowl then rub the lemon zest into the granulated sugar. This brings out the oils in the zest, trust me, do not skip this step, the lemon zest infuses into the sugar giving you the most amazing lemon flavor to your muffins.

3. Whisk yogurt, milk, butter, eggs, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt.

4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Fold the batter together just until combined.

5. Divide batter evenly among muffin liners. Bake at 425 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top.

6. Whisk together confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Drizzle glaze over muffins.

TIPS FOR THIS RECIPE

• Make sure you use greek yogurt or a thicker yogurt, not plain yogurt in this recipe. Plain yogurt is too runny and will add too much moisture to your batter causing them to spread more than puff.

  
  

• If you don’t have fresh lemons, 2½ teaspoons lemon extract can be used in place of the lemon zest. Substitute the lemon juice for ½ teaspoon white vinegar. (Don’t worry! You can’t taste the vinegar in the baked muffins!)

  
  

• Use a spring loaded scoop to fill muffin tin with batter for more evenly sized muffins. A heaping ¼ cup scoop fit my muffin liners perfectly.

  
  

• Try using Meyer lemons in place of regular lemons for a fun flavor twist!

  
  

• Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with sugar before baking for a sugary crust on top when baked.

  
  

• Store leftover muffins at room temperature in an airtight container. Muffins are best if eaten within 3 days.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

ARE POPPYSEEDS SAFE TO EAT?

Absolutely! But, if you don’t enjoy them or have concerns, you can definitely leave them out and still bake perfectly delicious muffins.

DO I HAVE TO USE YOGURT IN MY MUFFINS?

You can use sour cream instead of yogurt. You can also use whole cultured buttermilk – just omit the whole milk from the recipe if you do!

RECIPE

SUPPLIES

Equipment

• Muffin tin

• Paper liners

• Bowls

• Whisk

  
  

INGREDIENTS

For the Muffins:

• ▢ 2¼ cups all-purpose flour 313g

• ▢ 2 teaspoons baking powder 8g

• ▢ ¼ teaspoon baking soda2g

• ▢ 2 tablespoons poppy seeds 23g

• ▢ 1 cup sugar 186g

• ▢ 2 tablespoons lemon zest 6g

• ▢ 1 cup whole milk greek yogurt 245g

• ▢ ⅓ cup whole milk 78mL

• ▢ ½ cup unsalted buttermelted (113g)

• ▢ 2 large eggs 110g

• ▢ 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 15mL

• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 5mL

• ▢ ¼ teaspoon kosher salt2g

For the Glaze:

• ▢ 1 cup powdered sugar113g

• ▢ 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice 30mL

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.

2. For muffins: In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk in poppy seeds and salt.

3. In another large bowl, combine sugar and lemon zest. Working with your hands, rub zest into sugar until fully combined. Add yogurt, milk, melted butter, eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth. Pour into flour mixture and fold just until combined. (Batter will be thick.) Divide batter evenly among paper liners.

4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes or until tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Let muffins cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove and finish cooling on a wire rack.

5. For glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Drizzle over cooled muffins. Sit back and enjoy your delicious treat!

   p