One-Bowl Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
These muffins are tall with a crisp lemon zest and sugar studded lid. They're soft and tender on the inside, full of flavor, and the optional glaze makes for a muffin that's as beautiful as it is delicious.
Servings: 15 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.