Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

I found a recipe for lemon poppy seed muffins that happened to be egg-free, using yogurt instead. When I first made them, though, I wasn’t satisfied with them: the batter had been a bit too stiff, and the yield was only half-a-dozen, so that annoyed me. Luckily, I’d also had the good sense to reduce the baking time. All that said, I liked them enough to make them again and tweak the recipe further, so what follows is my adaptation for 12 muffins. I really enjoyed these on the second go! Note that you could make a glaze with ½ cup of powdered sugar (sifted) and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, but I didn’t feel like glazing muffins. They were great for breakfast as is.

2/3 cup regular white sugar
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup poppy seeds
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
¾ cup plain lactose-free yogurt (Greek yogurt will do)
½ cup lactose-free milk
¼ cup vegetable oil (such as safflower oil or grapeseed oil)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 °F. Grease a muffin tin (or line it with paper liners) and set aside.

In a small bowl, rub the white sugar with the lemon zest until the sugar is lightly colored and scented with lemon.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In a medium, whisk together the yogurt, milk, oil, vanilla extract, the reserved lemon-infused sugar, and the lemon juice.

Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and fold together. Divide batter between muffin cups. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until the tops are golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean.

Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before glazing (if desired).