Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins with Lemon Glaze

I looooove…. muffins; especially fruit muffins… banana nut, blueberry, mixed berries, you name it. I have been looking for a new muffin recipe and I thought that  lemon poppy seed muffins with lemon glaze will be perfect especially with the spring coming.  These muffins have all of the key characteristics that would make a great muffin: great texture (crumbly, but not dry), just enough moistness (not soggy), and enough contrast in flavor between the sweetness from the sugar and tartness from the lemon.

I made the icing a little bit too thin by accident (duh, I forgot to check how much lemon juice I needed). I probably ended up with the same amount of sugar but doubled the lemon juice. It made the icing consistency thinner than what it was supposed to be; but I actually thought that it was perfect for me.  But this was an excellent recipe; and I know I will be making again in the future.

Adapted from Dorie Greenspan

For the Muffins:

2/3 cup sugar

Grated zest 2 lemons

Juice of 1 lemon

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sour cream

2 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 tablespoons poppy seeds

For the Icing:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted

2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Directions:

Center a rack in the oven and pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan with paper muffin cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of lemon strong.

Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and melted butter together until well blended.

Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with a rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough –a few lumps are better than over-mixing the batter. Stir in the poppy seeds.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean.

Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold. Cool the muffins completely on the rack before icing them.

Directions for icing

Put the confectioners’ sugar in a small bowl and add about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the lemon juice.  Stir with a spoon to moisten the sugar, then add enough lemon juice, a dribble at a time, to get an icing that is thin enough to drizzle from the tip of the spoon. Then drizzle lines of icing over the tops of the muffins or coat the tops entirely.

Yield: 12 muffins