These are the BEST Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins! They're bakery-quality with super tall muffin tops, a moist texture, super fresh lemon flavor, and homemade lemon simple syrup brushed on top for a tangy, glossy finish.
WHAT YOU NEED Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins All Purpose Flour Granulated Sugar Baking Powder Baking Soda Salt Poppy Seeds Unsalted Butter Vegetable Oil Eggs Sour Cream Vanilla Extract Almond Extract Lemons Milk Lemon Simple Syrup Lemons Granulated Sugar
1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and poppy seeds. 2. Mix together the butter, oil, eggs, sour cream, vanilla, almond, and lemon zest, lemon juice, and milk. 3. Pour the wet mixture into the dry and combine. 4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and rest at room temperature for 1 hour.
5. Make the lemon syrup. Add the lemon juice and sugar to a saucepan and place over medium heat. 6. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes to let the sugar completely dissolve. 7. Peel the zest from 1 lemon and place in a heat safe bowl. 8. Remove the lemon syrup from the heat and pour into the bowl of zest. Let it cool at room temperature.
9. Using a large 2 oz scoop (or about 1/4 cup), fill each muffin liner all the way to the top and then some. Be careful not to disrupt the batter too much when scooping. That hour of rest helped fluff up the batter for a taller rise in the oven, so we don’t want it to deflate! 10. Bake for 8 minutes. Then change the oven heat setting to 350F and bake for another 8-10 minutes.
11. When the muffins are fresh from the oven, brush with a generous amount of the lemon simple syrup. 12. Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool for another 15-20 minutes. Sprinkle with more poppy seeds if desired and dig in while they’re still warm!