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Meet the fluffiest Lemon Poppyseed Muffins! Made in one bowl, these muffins are tall, with a crisp lemon zest & sugar studded lid. They’re soft and tender on the inside, full of flavor, and the lemon glaze makes for a muffin that’s as beautiful as it is delicious.
Table of Contents
Make these Lemon Poppyseed Muffins:
One-Bowl Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
Ingredients
For the Muffins
- 3 large lemons, zested
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 156 grams
- 3/4 cup salted butter, melted, 170 grams
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp brown sugar, packed, 124 grams
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup milk, at room temperature, 180 grams (I used 2%)
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp sour cream, at room temperature, 90 grams (Use full-fat sour cream)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp + 1 tsp fresh lemon juice, 50 grams
- 2 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, 358 grams
- 1 tbsp baking powder, 15 grams
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp poppyseeds, 20 grams
For Topping the Muffins Before Baking:
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar, 40 grams
- 1 large lemon, zested
Optional Glaze
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 173 grams
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice, 45 grams
Instructions
- Prep: Make sure you've let the sour cream, milk, and eggs come to room temp before beginning. Line a muffin pan with muffin papers, filling EVERY OTHER cavity. If you want to skip the 1 hour rest for the batter, preheat your oven to 425°F. If you want taller muffin tops, you'll be letting the batter rest for 1 hour before you bake, so no need to preheat the oven yet.
- Make the Muffins: In a small bowl, rub together the lemon zest and granulated sugar until the mixture resembles wet sand. Melt the butter in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in the lemon zested sugar and brown sugar, then whisk in the eggs and vanilla. Next, add the sour cream and lemon juice. Whisk until combined and smooth. Add the dry ingredients and poppyseeds, and fold in with a spatula until the dry ingredients are halfway mixed in or so. Pour in the milk, and continue gently mixing just until the last streaks of milk and flour disappear into the batter. There will be some lumps – this is good! Don't over mix.
- Optional Batter Rest: If you're impatient, you can skip this step. But, if you want extra tall muffin tops (see a comparison photo in the blog post below) let the batter rest for 1 hour before baking. The baking directions below are the same regardless of which option you choose.
- Bake: Remember to only bake a muffin in every other spot in the pan – this will also help them to rise taller.Fill each muffin cavity quite full – I used 80 grams of batter per muffin. Sprinkle a generous dusting of granulated sugar and a pinch of lemon zest on top of each muffin. Bake for 5 minutes at 425℉, then lower your oven temp to 350℉, and bake for 8-11 more minutes. The muffins are done when a toothpick pulls out moist crumbs, not wet batter.Pop the muffins out of the pan with a butter knife and let cool on a cooling rack, until they're cooled enough to handle, but still warm. (Or you can let them cool completely, if you prefer that.)
- Make the Glaze: Place a clean pan under the rack of muffins to catch drips! Whisk all glaze ingredients together and drizzle over the warm muffins. Glaze that drops down onto your pan can be scooped back into the bowl and re-used!
- Serve + Store: Muffins are best the first day, but leftovers can be stored in an airtight container at room temp for a few days.
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Why you’ll love Lemon Poppyseed Muffins:
- Tender & Moist – These muffins are tender and moist (the sour cream helps a lott with this!).
- Bursting with Lemon – Every bite is bursting with lemon flavor – there’s lemon zest and juice in the muffins, and in the glaze!
- Easy to Make – These muffins come together quickly, in one bowl, with melted butter (so there’s no mixer required!). They’re delicious whether you use the 1 hour rest or not.
Ingredient Overview:
As always, the full recipe with measurements & directions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post. Use the table of contents (back at the top, below the first image, to navigate).
- Butter – I always use salted butter because in my experience, it lends the best flavor, but feel free to use unsalted butter if that’s what you prefer.
- All-purpose flour – Spoon your flour into the measuring cup, then level it with a flat utensil for best results, or use a scale. Scooping the measuring cup directly into your flour will lead to too much flour, and a potentially dry bake.
- Sour Cream – Use full fat sour cream for the best texture!
- Vanilla – Use real vanilla extract for the best flavor.
- Lemons – Use fresh lemon zest and juice.
Recipe Substitutions & Variations:
- Poppyseeds – If you need to omit the poppyseeds, these will still turn out fine!
- Lemon Juice – Bottled lemon juice works in a pinch.
How to Make Lemon Poppyseed Muffins:
Step 1: Zest the Sugar. Rub lemon zest into the granulated sugar until you have a wet sandy mixture. This activates the flavor!
Step 2: Mix the Wet Ingredients. Melt the butter in a medium bowl, then whisk in the sugars, eggs, vanilla, and sour cream.
Step 3: Finish the Batter & Let it Rest. Add the dry ingredients and the poppyseeds and stir until they’re almost incorporated, then pour in the milk. Gently fold in the milk. You’ll have a thick batter.
Step 4: Bake. Let the muffin batter rest for 1 hour for taller tops, or bake right away! Bake muffins, filling every other cup in the pan, for 5 minutes at 425 degrees F, and then 8-11 more minutes at 350 degrees F.
Step 5: Add Glaze. Top the warm muffins with a simple glaze made from powdered sugar, vanilla, and lemon juice. You can see which ones had the hour rest (taller) vs. which ones were baked right away (shorter).
Serving + Storing:
Enjoy muffins immediately once they’re out of the oven and glazed! These are best (like most muffins) when they’re fresh, but leftovers will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days.
Love lemon? Make my Lemon Poppyseed Bundt Cake or my Easy Lemon Bars!
Expert Baking Tips:
- Oven Thermometer – An oven thermometer will tell you if your oven is actually running at the temperature you set it to. Your oven may not be accurate. Accurate oven temperature is crucial for most bakes, so I leave an oven thermometer in at all times to keep an eye on my oven’s calibration.
- Kitchen Scale – A food scale is the best way to make sure your flour is at the proper weight, since amounts will vary SO widely based on how you measure it, as well as the measuring cup you use, as they are not standardized.
FAQs:
Yes, you can do either here!
Yes, let them cool, then freeze them without the glaze, in a freezer safe container for 4-6 weeks. Thaw on the counter for a few hours, and add the glaze fresh.
Yes! You’ll only get about 1/2 of the yield. Fill muffin papers with about 160 grams to 170 grams of batter. Bake for 7 minutes at 425 F, and then 10 to 15 minutes at 350 F. Check for doneness in the same way as with the regular sized muffins.
Special Tools:
- Muffin Pan – You’ll need a standard size muffin pan for this recipe.
Will be making these again! They turned out great!
Glad to hear it 🙂
Made them today ,love the look and taste.
Thank you for lovely recipes 😘
Thanks so much! ☺️