There
are mornings when I like to ditch the cereal and have something sweet. That
something sweet usually means a muffin, along with yogurt and some fresh fruit.
What I like about this particular muffin recipe is that while its texture may be
similar to a pound cake, it does not contain the usual sour cream.
Instead we
add plain yogurt which makes them lighter in both taste and calories. What I
also like about these muffins, is their tangy citrus flavor which comes from
adding lemon zest to the batter and also by drizzling the baked muffins with a
lemon glaze. The other welcome addition is poppy seeds. Poppy seeds are the tiny
ripe black seeds of the opium poppy plant and while their flavor is said to be
nutty, you really can't taste them because they are so small. Rather, what
you notice is their delightful crunch and how pretty they look dotting the
batter. It is hard to imagine that it takes 900,000 of these tiny kidney-shaped
seeds to equal one pound.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
(177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Line a 12 cup muffin pan with paper
liners or spray with a non stick vegetable spray. Set aside.
In a small bowl,
whisk or stir
together the flour, poppy seeds, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
In the bowl of
your electric
mixer, or with a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar. Beat in
eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the lemon
zest, yogurt,
and vanilla until well blended. Stir in the flour mixture just
until moistened. Do not over mix. Spoon the batter using either two spoons or an ice
cream scoop into the prepared muffin tins and bake for 18-20 minutes
or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (If making jumbo
muffins increase the baking time to about 25 minutes.) Remove from oven and
place on a wire rack to cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan and glazing.
Glaze: While muffins are baking stir together the powdered sugar and lemon
juice. The mixture should be runny. Once the muffins are removed from the oven,
wait five minutes, and then drizzle the glaze over the muffins with a spoon.
Makes 12 muffins
Adapted from Creme de
Colorado Cookbook by the Junior League of Denver
Lemon Zest
- The yellow outer rind of the lemon that contains the fruit's flavor
and perfume. The rind being the outer skin of the lemon which
consists of both the yellow zest and white membrane (pith).
s
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