Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Along with everything else happening on Monday, the brother informed me that I should make something for him to share with his jazz band class. He decided on lemon poppy seed muffins, which are his favorite kind. I probably should've just done the processed box kind. It would've been easier, and I knew the homemade kind wouldn't be the brother's favorite...but I don't really count that as baking. And, I needed to legitimately bake something. That or workout again. And considering it hurt to move my arms and laugh and move, baking seemed like the better option. 

The verdict? The mother said they were the best real lemon poppy seed muffins ever. The brother said he (and most of his friends) prefers the processed junk (which really doesn't taste much like the real version), and "they're a little dry." I thought they were decent. They have more of a "real" lemon flavor and a heavier texture than the boxed variety. You can easily separate the top from the bottom without crumbs going everywhere. (This is important to me because I like to eat the bottom first...same goes for cupcakes.) 

Alterations...I used plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream. I did keep the refined sugar and white flour because I didn't want to totally freak the kids out. Honestly, next time, I would go half-and-half on the flours and do 1/3 cup of honey instead of 2/3 cups sugar. I could get really crazy and switch out the butter for a fruit puree (ex. banana or apple). Maybe add a little coconut oil.


Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Inspiration from Luscious Confections

Ingredients:
2/3 cup sugar (try 1/3 cup honey)
Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (try 1 all-purpose and 1 whole wheat)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
2 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla
1 tsp lemon extract
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled (try fruit puree) 
2 TBSP poppy seeds 
Organic milk (if needed to get desired consistency)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prepare a 12-cup muffin pan with liners. (If you spray the liners with non-stick cooking spray, they will peel off the muffins beautifully.)
• Add the sugar to a large bowl. Grate the zest of the lemon into the sugar. Mix until it's evenly distributed. Add the rest of the dry ingredients. Mix together.
• In a separate bowl, mix the lemon juice, yogurt, eggs, vanilla, lemon and butter. 
• Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and stir gently to combine (don't over mix). The batter will be pretty thick and a little lumpy. You may add a little milk to the mixture if you like. 
• Divide the batter into the prepared muffin pan.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the tops are slightly golden.

Enjoy!