Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins With Simple Sweet Glaze

Lemon poppy seed muffins are the perfect muffin to complement Easter or Sunday brunch. Light and fluffy with a vibrant lemon flavor, they also make for a great breakfast side or a springtime snack. You’ll love the bright lemon flavor and a drizzle of sweet glaze that’s the perfect topper. Serve them alongside your favorite breakfast foods and think of it almost like a dessert for brunch or breakfast. They make a gorgeous springtime gift to give to family and friends. And you won’t believe how easy homemade muffins are to make!

Ingredients in Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

It may seem like the list of ingredients is a little long for these muffins, but trust me, every single step is worth the bursting flavor you’ll have at the end. Just gather your dry ingredients and wet ingredients together and enjoy baking something from scratch. Combine the following in a large bowl:

Flour – two cups all purpose flour, sifted. You can also substitute gluten-free flour for gluten free muffins. Baking powder – one whole tablespoon. That’s right. See notes below about why we use extra baking powder in this recipe. You’ll love the muffin tops! Baking soda – one teaspoon Poppy seeds – you’ll need two heaping tablespoons of these Lemon zest – use the zest of a whole lemon for extra lemon flavour. Salt – half a teaspoon Sugar – regular granulated sugar, about a cup. Butter – half a cup, or one cube of unsalted butter, melted Large Egg Almond extract – one tablespoon, which seems like a lot, but it gives the muffins a nutty, rich flavor that can’t be beat! Vanilla extract – one teaspoon Sour cream – you can substitute Greek yogurt or regular yogurt in place of the sour cream if you like. Milk – one third cup of any type of milk you like. Juice from 1 lemon – you can also use the bottled lemon juice if that’s what you have on hand.

For the Glaze: A quick icing comes together with about two cups of powdered sugar and a few tablespoons of milk. Mix until it’s the right consistency, then drizzle on top of the lemon poppyseed muffins. Delish!

How to Get Perfect Muffin Tops

I found this advice from our friend Lizzy at Your Cup of Cake. She is an excellent baker and knows all the fun baking tricks! She suggests adding a good amount of baking powder to the batter so the tops rise nicely above the muffin cups (which is why we use a full tablespoon in this recipe). This trick works great and doesn’t alter the taste at all. She also suggests baking at a higher temperature to begin with so the muffin tops rise quickly and then reducing the temperature to allow the middle of the muffin to bake through without the outside edges getting too toasty. Test the middle of the muffins by inserting a toothpick to make sure it comes out clean. It’s up to you whether you use paper liners for these muffins; just make sure to grease your muffin tin well so they don’t stick.

Optional Icing Flavors

The biggest debate when it comes to lemon poppy seed muffins is what kind of icing or glaze goes best over the top. I, personally, like a glaze without any other flavors added (as directed in the recipe below). Others prefer a lemon glaze.

For this recipe I use a little milk with powdered sugar but if you want to give your icing a little more “zing”, replace the milk with fresh lemon juice and a little fresh lemon zest. For an almond glaze, prepare as directed below and add a little splash (about ¼ tsp.) of almond extract. You can ice them right in the muffin tins before you set them out on a wire rack to cool.

Need More Lemon Flavor?

These muffins have a bright, fresh lemon flavor but it’s not too overpowering. If you want muffins that have a good punch of lemon flavor, simply add some zest from fresh lemons and a little more lemon juice to the batter. As mentioned above, you can also use a lemon glaze instead of a plain glaze. Feel free to make your muffins as lemony and zesty as you’d like! Add bright, fresh lemon to any meal with some of our favorite tangy lemon recipes. For breakfast, try these Lemon Blueberry Scones, for lunch serve up this Chicken Pizza with Lemon, cozy up to a big bowl of Lemon Spaghetti for supper and finish off the day with a slice of Lemon Bundt Cake. YUM!

Additional Mix Ins

There are so many different ways you can add variety to this muffin recipe! Replace the poppy seeds with any of these different mix-in’s to your batter before baking:

Blueberries (fresh or frozen) Cranberries (fresh or frozen) Raspberries (fresh or frozen) Lime juice/zest Shredded coconut

Tip: Remember to toss any berry add-ins with a little flour before folding in to prevent them from sinking to the bottom inside the muffin tin.

How to Store Muffins

These muffins taste absolutely delicious fresh, but they can be kept for later too! Store leftovers in an airtight container either on the counter for up to two days, or in the freezer for up to a month. Allow them to come to room temperature or pop them into the oven for a few minutes to serve warm. These can be baked with or without muffin liners. Just make sure that the muffins cool completely from baking before storing them in the freezer. READ NEXT: 33+ Breakfast Ideas