Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

This lemon poppy seed muffin recipe is terrific.  This recipe has an entire lemon ground up to give these muffins a tart and sweet flavor combination.  I brought these muffins to my twin boys third grade teacher after school on Friday.  She said "these muffins are just the thing I need today"!  This recipe comes from the Pastry Queen Cookbook by Rebecca Rather.  I tried to make these muffins healthier by cutting out half the butter and replacing it with canola oil, using 1% yogurt instead of whole milk, using whole wheat pastry flour for all purpose flour.  I also added the poppy seeds to this recipe.  These muffins are still light as a feather and are delicious for a morning snack or coffee break.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins:

Pre-Heat Oven:  350 degrees
Makes:  25 muffins or 50 mini muffins

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins:
1 medium lemon
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup canola oil
1 1/2 cups organic cane sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup bread flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 2/3 cups(16 oz.) plain yogurt (1%)
2 teaspoons poppy seeds

1.  Spray 25 muffin cups with cooking spray or line them with muffin wrappers.

2.  Cut the lemon in quarters and remove the seeds.  Place the quartered lemon into a food processor with a metal blade for 1 minute or until it is fully ground up.  Scrape out all the lemon parts into a small bowl.

3.  In a mixer with the paddle attachment, add the butter, oil and sugar.  Blend together for 1 minute.  Add the eggs one at a time and mix well between each addition.  Add the vanilla, soda, baking powder, salt, yogurt and poppy seeds to the batter.  Add the whole wheat and bread flour slowly to the muffin batter until all the ingredients are fully incorporated.

4.  Spoon the muffin batter into the muffin tins up to the top. (this batter is thick so it will not run over the edge of the muffin pan).  Bake for 18 minutes for the regular muffins and 12 minutes for the mini muffins or until a tooth pick comes out clean. Let the muffins cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes. You can also freeze the muffins for up to 2 weeks in a ziplock freezer bag.

Mini Muffin Tin

Regular Muffin Tins

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins