Dorie Greenspan's Lemon Poppy Muffins

Serves	Total Time
12	25 minutes

Ingredients - Muffins

0.67 cup granulated sugar
1 lemon zest
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
0.5 tsp baking soda
0.25 tsp salt
0.75 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 lemon juice
1 stick melted and cooled butter
2 Tbsp poppy seeds

Ingredients - Icing

1 cup confectioners' sugar
3 Tbsp lemon juice

Cookware

1 regular-size muffin pan
1 baking sheet
1 large bowl
1 large glass measuring cup or another bowl
1 whisk or a rubber spatula
1 cooling rack
1 small bowl

Instructions - Muffins

Step 1

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F.

Step 2

Butter or spray the 12 molds in a regular-size muffin pan or fit the molds with paper muffin cups. Alternatively, use a silicone muffin pan, which needs neither greasing nor paper cups. Place the muffin pan on a baking sheet.

Step 3

In a large bowl, rub the granulated sugar and the lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of the lemon strong. Whisk in the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Step 4

In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice and melted and cooled butter together until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with the whisk or 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.

Step 5

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

Instructions - Icing

Step 6

Put the confectioners' sugar in a small bowl and add about 1.5 tablespoons of the lemon juice. Stir with a spoon to moisten the sugar, then add enough additional lemon juice, a dribble at a time, to get an icing that is thin enough to drizzle from the tip of the spoon. You can then drizzle lines of icing over the tops of the muffins or coat the tops entirely, the better to get an extra zap of lemon.