Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Fresh and, of course, lemony.
Texture: The interior is ultra tender and moist with those delightful little bites of poppy seeds.
Ease: Super easy.
Pros: Quick, simple, and delish.
Cons: None!!
Would I make this again? Yes.
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I’ve always had a soft spot for muffins, and Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are definitely among my favorite.
In high school, muffins were the little treat to break up the monotony. There would be a muffin cart in the main hallway once a week.
I’m pretty sure the muffins were from Costco. They weren’t wonderful, but it was nice to have a little sweet indulgence to look forward to.
Muffins will probably always have a place in my heart.
They’re truly a multi-purpose treat. They’re perfect for breakfast, as a snack, or even for dessert.
Unfortunately, most muffins are bland. And in my experience, the muffins that often look the prettiest with the tallest muffin tops are often super cakey and dry – even from a good bakery.
I prefer a nice moist muffin with a bit of a springy texture. I don’t want pound cake. Or cake at all. Which I find is what most packaged muffins feel like. And I certainly don’t want a dry muffin. I want MOIST muffins… everyone’s favorite word 😉
So if you feel the same, or are just curious about the science of muffin baking, check out the pink box below for my tips.
How to Make Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Don’t Overmix Your Muffin Batter!!
- Be very very careful not to overmix the batter once you combine the wet + dry ingredients. This will create rubbery muffins.
- Gently stir until *just* combined.
- If there’s a few small streaks of flour remaining, that’s perfectly fine.
Secret Baking Science Tip: CHILL The Muffin Batter!
- The BEST thing you can do to make Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins (or any muffins!) more tender and even a little taller is to cover and chill your batter in the fridge overnight before baking.
- It’s very similar to chilling cookie dough.
- Think of it like marinating.
- By chilling the batter, the starch in the flour is able to absorb more moisture, resulting in a more tender muffin.
- It also thickens the batter without making it drier, which helps encourage taller muffin tops without that crumbly or cakey texture.
- This technique works particularly well with muffin batter, which is usually made from melted butter or oil (not creamed butter + sugar) and uses only baking powder as the leavener, which is double acting. Meaning, it’s activated both by the moisture of the batter and the heat of the oven. Baking soda is only activated by acid in the batter, not from the heat of the oven.
- If you don’t believe me, just look at the comparison below. And what the image doesn’t quite capture is just how much more TENDER the chilled batter muffins turned out.
How to Chill Muffin Batter:
- Chill the batter in one large bowl, as opposed to chilling it in the individual muffin cavities, to prevent it from drying out.
- Bake directly from the fridge.
How Do I Get MORE Lemon Flavor in These Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins?
Add 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract along with the juice and zest.
How Do I Stop My Muffins From Sticking to the Liner?
- This can sometimes be caused by the brand of liners.
- This is my favorite brand that I order in bulk from Amazon.
- If you find your liners still get stuck and end up ruining your muffins, don’t worry. I’ve actually written an entire article about how to prevent muffin or cupcake liners from sticking here.
What’s the Best Muffin Tin?
I typically don’t like nonstick bakeware, which is why I was so surprised when I fell in love with the Wilton Recipe Right Nonstick Muffin Pan. They bake evenly and achieve lightly golden brown edges and clean up beautifully. I’ve had 3 of these tins for 6+ years and love them!
Can You Freeze Muffins?
Yes! Unglazed Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Defrost on the counter until room temperature. Refresh in a 300°F oven for 5 minutes if desired. If desired, glaze once thawed and at room temperature.
More Muffin Recipes
- Brown Butter Blueberry Muffins (with a streusel top!)
- Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Pumpkin Muffins
- Chocolate Coffee Toffee Crunch Muffins
- Bakery Style Banana Muffins
More Lemon Recipes
- Glazed Lemon Cookies
- Lemon Bundt Cake
- Lemon Cheesecake
- Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes
- Lemon Poppy Seed Cookies
Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups (254 grams) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
- 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon zest
For the lemon glaze:
- 1 cup (125 grams) powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a standard muffin tin with paper liners.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, butter, egg, juice, and zest. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Do not overmix – there should be a couple streaks of flour remaining.* Divide evenly among the muffin tin cups.
- Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the edges are golden, about 15 minutes. Let cool until barely warm.
- Serve, or store in an airtight at room temperature for 3 days. Muffins can also be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
Make the glaze:
- In a small bowl, combine the sugar and lemon juice with a fork until a smooth and thick glaze forms. Drizzle or dip each muffin top with the glaze. Let set before serving.
Recipe Notes
This recipe was originally published in 2012 and updated with recipe improvements, new photos, and more baking tips. Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
I made them egg and dairy free with an egg replacer , almond milk and coconut oil instead of butter. Still really good
So happy to hear your substitutions worked well, Sam!
These are really good and I will be refrigerating the batter of every muffins I make moving forward. The only critique I have is that the lemon is very subtle. Next time (and there will be a next time) I would strongly recommend using lemon extract or bumping up the amount of lemon zest which has been recommended by others.
Made this recipe for the second time following the metric measurements. Love it! Subbed whole milk for unsweetened almond milk since that’s what I had.
Selected this recipe because it didn’t use yogurt. Used lactose free whole milk, added 1/4 TSP lemon extract, left dough in refrigerator overnight, baked at 350 degrees for 25 minutes- EXCELLENT
A coworker brought in lemons from her tree for all of us. I’ve always loved lemon poppyseed muffins but never made my own. Yours was the first recipe that popped up and is the recipe I will be using from today on.
very yummy
Hi, came across your receipe and my son’s favorite muffin lemon poppyseed. if I use skim milk instead of whole milk will my muffins still rise?
Hi Kuldip! We haven’t tried that, so I can’t say for sure sorry! They should still rise, but the crumb might not be quite as nice. Let us know how it goes if you give that a try 🙂
Holy cow. I’m not ever a fan of lemon desserts and these muffins blew me away! Especially with the glaze on top. I followed the metric measurements and it yielded 12 beautifully fluffy muffins with cracks in the tops.
delicious moist and loads of flavor. very fresh.
These are really good and easy to make.
BUT I also had issues with the cooking time, my muffins were done by the 15 minute mark.
If I would’ve left them in the whole time I think the would’ve burned.
I do have an oven thermometer and it said it was at the correct temperature.
When I made these I baked them for the 20 minutes stated and they were burnt, they’re a lot better at 15 minutes or less and I refrigerated them for 20. Also I would definitely use lemon extract as well next time because the lemon flavor is barely there.
Hi Mary! I’m sorry to hear that your muffins were burned! I wonder if your oven might be running a little hot. Do you have an oven thermometer to check that? Check out Tessa’s article here about ovens, full of tips!! If you don’t have an oven thermometer to ensure your oven is at the temperature it says it is, invest in one now! They are inexpensive and really help your baking so much! This oven thermometer is one of Tessa’s favorites. We hope you give these muffins another try sometime (adding in the suggested lemon extract, for extra lemony deliciousness!) as they really are so good 🙂 Happy baking!
Great recipe! Cooking time needs to be adjusted. Mine came burnt at the top with 4 min left!
Hi Alexa! I’m so glad you enjoyed these muffins! It sounds like your oven might be running a little hot. Do you have an oven thermometer to check that? Check out Tessa’s article here about ovens, full of tips!! If you don’t have an oven thermometer to ensure your oven is at the temperature it says it is, invest in one now! They are inexpensive and really help your baking so much! This oven thermometer is one of Tessa’s favorites. I hope that helps 🙂
I made these for a church event and they were DELICIOUS. Everyone loved them and I brought home an empty bowl! I’m making another batch right now for those who requested more muffins. Thanks for a great recipe!