Fluffy, tender, perfect lemon poppyseed muffins topped with a sprinkling of sweet lemon sugar. They’re so simple you won’t believe it!
Lemon-Sugar Poppyseed Muffins
Anyone else desperately holding onto these last days of summer?! Just me?!? Ok but seriously it’s starting to feel like fall around here and I decided I needed to make one last summer recipe before we step into alllll the yummy fall recipes. I’m honestly not that sad to say goodbye to summer because my love for fall recipes can barely be contained. I’m looking at you, pumpkin bread! 🙂
These muffins are the perfect way to cap off summer, IMO, and I think you’ll agree. They’re warm, fluffy, and they pack a punch of delicious freshly squeezed lemon juice all throughout. My mouth is watering just thinking about them.. I think I may need to go grab one from the kitchen.. lol.
What are Lemon-Sugar Poppyseed Muffins?
Everyone who knows me knows that I’m absolutely obsessed with lemon poppyseed ANYTHING. There’s honestly not a lot of combinations that are better than this combo of pure HEAVEN. Ok, maybe the combination of key lime and vanilla wafers in my Key Lime Pie Bars, but other than that, I promise none can compare.
These Lemon-Sugar Poppyseed Muffins are light, fluffy lemon poppyseed muffins topped with a lemon sugar sprinkle that will make you go absolutely crazy for lemons!! These are so delicious, but I promise they really couldn’t be easier. This is practically a one-bowl muffin batter, and they take about 15 minutes to prep. How easy is that?! Follow along with me and I’ll show you how!
Ingredients for Make Lemon-Sugar Poppyseed Muffins
- Butter – I’m using unsalted butter here because I like to be able to control the amount of salt I add to my recipes. I hardly ever use salted butter for that reason!
- Sugars – we’re using granulated sugar and brown sugar here. I think the brown sugar is a must when it comes to any muffin recipe.
- Eggs – This is what will bind our muffin batter together, and it’ll also provide some structure to our finished product!
- Whole Milk – If you only have 2% milk, feel free to use that as well.
- Sour Cream – One of my favorite things to add to any muffin, cake, cupcake, etc. Such an amazing flavor-carrier that you do not want to leave out! It also helps add some moisture to our muffins.
- Vanilla extract – Definitely try and find pure vanilla extract, now is not the time for vanilla “essence.”
- Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice – Emphasis on the “freshly squeezed!!” Please please PLEASE do not use the bottled lemon juice you find in the store. Grab some fresh lemons instead and squeeze them yourself, you won’t regret it!
- Lemon Zest – Lemon juice is great, but the zest is really what carries the majority of the lemon flavor. This is such an important ingredient to ensure that our lemon muffins actually taste like lemon muffins.
- All-Purpose Flour – This will add some structure to our muffins. Just be sure not to over-mix the batter once you add the dry ingredients because we don’t want the gluten in the flour to over-develop and create tough, rubbery muffins.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda – Our leavening agents aka what gives the muffins that beautiful dome rise!
- Salt – For flavor
- Poppyseeds – I may or may not be slightly obsessed with these little guys. You don’t want to miss these!
Tips for Making Lemon-Sugar Poppyseed Muffins
If I could give you any tip for these muffins it would without a doubt be to not over-mix your muffin batter. The last thing we want is for our muffins to taste dry and rubbery, which is exactly what will happen if we mix and mix and mix and mix once we add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Muffins are meant to be “stirred,” not beaten (which is better for us because all you need is a wooden spoon and you have beautiful, tender, fluffy muffins).
Another tip is to really make sure you’re rubbing the sugar and the lemon zest together between your fingers. By doing this, the sharp edges of the sugar crystals actually cut into the lemon zest, releasing all of those amazing lemon oils that we want in our muffins. Rub the two between your fingers for at least 30 seconds (if not more!).
Lastly, make sure you don’t forget to reduce the oven temperature to 350°F after 5 minutes of baking at 425°F. You don’t want crispy muffins 🙂
Ok everyone, that’s all from me for now! I hope you have fun with these muffins, just like I did. And as always, if you make these be sure to tag me on my socials @sarahsdayoff so I can see all of your beautiful (and delicious) creations! Happy baking 🙂
XO,
Sarah
Lemon-Sugar Poppyseed Muffins
Ingredients
For the Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
- 2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp poppyseeds
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup sugar divided
- 1/2 cup plus 1 Tbsp packed brown sugar
- 3 large eggs at room temperature
- 3/4 cup whole milk at room temperature
- 1/4 cup sour cream at room temperature
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest divided
For the Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tsp milk
- 2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
For the Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- Combine flour, poppyseeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl, whisking to combine.
- In a separate bowl whisk butter, 3/4 cup sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Add in eggs, one at a time, whisking until combined.
- Add the milk, sour cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and 2 tsp lemon zest and whisk until smooth.
- Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients; fold in wet ingredients to dry ingredients until just combined. Fill each muffin cup 3/4 of the way full with prepared batter.
- In a small bowl combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp lemon zest. Rub lemon zest and sugar granules together, using your fingers, for about 30 seconds. Sprinkle each muffin with lemon sugar.
- Bake muffins 5 minutes at 425°F, reduce temperature to 350°F, and bake additional 12 to 14 minutes or until edges are lightly golden brown.
- Let muffins cool completely in pan before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve warm and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator 7 to 10 days.
For the Lemon Glaze
- Whisk all ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. Drizzle glaze on muffins just before serving.
Amazing muffins!