These Moist Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins with Lemon Glaze are soft, tender, and packed with bright, citrusy flavor. They're topped with a simple lemon glaze that adds the perfect touch of sweetness, even more lemon flavor, and shine. With minimal prep time and easy ingredients these muffins come together in under 30 minutes making them perfect for breakfast, brunch or an afternoon treat!
It is truly hard to beat a good muffin. I love to have them on hand for snacks for my 4-year old twins (I usually do a mini version for snacks), they make a great addition to a brunch spread, or an easy add on to your breakfast. These Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are versatile, delicious, and simple to make.
If you're looking for more delicious breakfast and brunch recipes check out my Coffee Cake Muffins, Cinnamon Rolls with Heavy Cream, or Strawberry Pop-Tarts!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- The moist crumb, tender center, and slightly crispy edges make these muffins taste like they came straight from your local bakery! Just like my Banana Chocolate Chunk Muffins.
- The lemon zest and lemon juice work together to give you that punch of lemon flavor. You can get more of that amazing lemon flavor in my Lemon Curd Cookies.
- The simple lemon glaze adds moisture, sweetness, and extra lemon flavor to the lemon poppy muffins. I use a similar glaze on my Lemon Brownies.
- Adding sour cream (you can swap it for greek yogurt if you'd like!) to the muffins gives them just the right fat ratio to make them super moist and soft. I also use sour cream to get that same moist texture in my Chocolate Chip Donuts.
- This lemon poppy seed muffin recipe is simple and quick to make. From start to finish you can be munching on these muffins in less than 30 minutes! My Fudgy Brownies can be ready in the same amount of time.
What Makes Muffins Moist
The keys for the perfect muffin texture are the amount and type of fat used, resting the batter, using a high initial oven temperature, and your mixing technique.
Key Ingredients for Moisture
- Sour cream or greek yogurt: These ingredients add fat and acid for moisture and tenderness.
- Milk or buttermilk: add moisture, richness, and enhances the crumb overall.
Why Overmixing Ruins Texture
- Overmixing makes for tough muffins. Mix until ingredients are just combined to prevent too much gluten from forming.
Temperature and Resting Batter
- Chilling the batter: helps the flour hydrate and improves the overall rise.
- High oven temperature at the start of baking (425 degrees F): this gives the muffins a jump start, then finish baking at a lower temperature (350 degrees F) to hold onto that moisture.
Ingredients
- You'll need the juice and zest of fresh lemons. Fresh lemon juice has a better overall taste than bottled lemon juice. I use both lemon juice and zest in my Lemon Curd Cake.
- Poppy seeds will add texture and a bit of flavor the the lemon muffins. I don't soak my poppy seeds before using, but soaking them in water before baking is said to give them a nuttier flavor. I also use poppy seeds in these Lemon Poppy Seed Macarons.
- Milk and sour cream are used to add moisture and flavor to the lemon poppy muffins. Buttermilk or greek yogurt can be used in place of the milk or sour cream if that is your preference.
- I prefer to use butter instead of oil in my muffins because it adds flavor and makes the muffins light and fluffy. Oil is said to add moisture, so you can replace the oil for butter if that's what your prefer or have on hand.
- Flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and eggs are all pantry staples that make up the base of the lemon poppy seed muffins recipe.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and Variations
- Swap out the sour cream for greek yogurt. You can make the same simple swap in my Easy Moist Vanilla Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting.
- Buttermilk can be used in place of milk for a tangier taste. I also use buttermilk in these Cinnamon Streusel Muffins.
- Oil can be used in place of butter for added moisture, but it will change the taste of the muffins as well.
- Out of lemons? Use lemon extract.
- Try lime or orange zest and juice for a fun citrus twist. Lime is the star of the show in my Key Lime Pie Macarons.
- Add blueberries, raspberries, or white chocolate chips for some flavor variety. Lemon and blueberry play together well in these Lemon Blueberry Cookies.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
Step-By-Step Instructions
STEP 1: In a medium bowl combine the milk, eggs, melted butter, sour cream, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Whisk to combine.
STEP 2: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, poppy seeds, baking soda, and baking powder. Whisk until free of lumps.
STEP 3: Gently mix the wet and dry ingredients until just combined. If you're looking to make tall, bakery-style muffins you can rest the batter for an hour or overnight. If you don't care about the height, you can go ahead and bake them now.
STEP 4: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees (F). Line a muffin pan with muffin liners. Fill the prepared muffin pan about ¾ of the way (fill the muffins tins higher if you want larger, taller muffins) with the lemon poppy seed muffin batter.
STEP 5: Place the muffins in the oven and bake for 8 minutes then turn your oven down to 350 degrees (F) and baked for another 8 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out with only a few moist crumbs. Remove the lemon muffins from the oven and allow to cool.
STEP 6: Combine all of the lemon glaze ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.
STEP 7: Dip the top of each muffin into the lemon glaze or use a pastry brush to brush the glaze on top of each muffin.
Troubleshooting Common Muffin Issues
Why are my muffins dry?
- Dry muffins are usually the result of over mixing or over baking. Be sure to mix your ingredients until just combined, that you oven is set to the correct temperature, and you remove them from the oven when a toothpick inserted in the muffins comes out with a few moist crumbs, even if you haven't reached the full baking time yet.
Why are the muffins flat instead of domed?
- There could be several reasons for this, but a few of the easiest ways to fix it is chilling your muffin batter before baking, filling your muffin tins almost to the top, and starting your baking at a higher temperature and then lowering it to finish baking.
Why is the glaze soaking into or sliding off of the muffins?
- The lemon glaze was probably too thin, which let it soak into the muffins easily. Try adding less liquid next time.
- If the glaze is sliding off of the muffins then the muffins were probably too warm when you glazed them. Allow more cooling next time around.
Expert Baking Tips
- Use an oven thermometer. Most ovens run either hot or cold. Using an oven thermometer ensures that you are baking your muffins at the perfect temperature.
- Weigh your ingredients. One of the most common baking mistakes that I see is measuring incorrectly, especially with flour. The best way to get accurate measurements every time is to weigh them with a kitchen scale.
- Don’t use cold ingredients. Ensure that all of your cold ingredients are at room temperature before making your muffins. The ingredients will combine much easier and you won’t have chunks of cold butter in your batter, which can lead to greasy muffins.
Recipe FAQ's
Room Temperature: These muffins can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Refrigerator: If stored correctly in an airtight container the Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins will last up to 1 week in the fridge.
Freezer: You can store the muffins in an airtight container in the freezer for up to a month.
Pro Tip: Freeze the muffins unglazed and mix up the simple glaze when you are ready to enjoy for the best flavor and texture.
You definitely can but it is also not necessary. Soaking the poppy seeds softens them up a bit and brings out more of their nutty flavor. It can also make them easier to digest. If you want to soak them you can do so in warm water or milk for about 30 minutes before baking.
You sure can. I find it is best to freeze them unglazed and whisk up a the fresh, simple lemon glaze when you are ready to serve them.
Buttermilk would be the best alternative if you don't have either on hand or prefer not to use them. You can use 6 tablespoons of buttermilk in place of the ½ cup of sour cream.
More Recipes You'll Love
If you tried these Moist Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins with Lemon Glaze or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I so appreciate hearing from you!
Recipe
Moist Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins with Lemon Glaze
Ingredients
For Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins:
- 1 cup (227 grams) milk
- 1 stick (113 grams) unsalted butter melted and cooled
- ½ cup (113 grams) sour cream
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 large (100 grams) eggs
- 2 ¾ cup (330 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (198 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
For Lemon Glaze:
- ½ cup (57 grams) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
For Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins:
- In a medium bowl combine the milk, melted butter, sour cream, lemon juice, lemon zest, and egg. Whisk to combine.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, poppy seeds, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Whisk until free of lumps.
- Gently mix the wet and dry ingredients until just combined. If you're looking to make tall, bakery-style muffins you can rest the batter for an hour or overnight. If you don't care about the height, you can go ahead and bake them now.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees (F). Line a muffin pan with muffin liners. Fill the prepared muffin pan about ¾ of the way (fill the muffins tins higher if you want larger, taller muffins) with the lemon poppy seed muffin batter.
- Place the muffins in the oven and bake for 8 minutes then turn your oven down to 350 degrees (F) and bake for another 8 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out with only a few moist crumbs. Remove the lemon muffins from the oven and allow to cool.
For Lemon Glaze:
- Combine all of the lemon glaze ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.
- Dip the top of each muffin into the lemon glaze or use a pastry brush to brush the glaze on top of each muffin.
Notes
- Don’t use cold ingredients. Ensure that all of your cold ingredients are at room temperature before making your muffins. The ingredients will combine much easier and you won’t have chunks of cold butter in your batter, which can lead to greasy muffins.
- For tall, bakery-style muffins chill your muffin batter for 1 hour before baking and fill the muffin tins almost to the top.
- The provided nutrition information is an estimate, the calorie accuracy is not guaranteed.
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