Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, Revisited

2/7/09: Lemon poppy seed anything is heavenly. So naturally these muffins were too. I was mass producing muffins for a bridal shower and so I made them a day ahead of time. They kept up well, but they are best eaten right out of the pan...still warm with glaze oozing down the sides. By ingredient these muffins qualify as a dessert, but honestly they are perfect at any time of day! If they last long enough to make it into the freezer they can be re-heated to fulfill those lazy-afternoon or bedtime snack cravings!

5/9/09: I performed a few tricks to improve upon these magical muffins. I added a tablespoon of lemon juice and carefully watched them in the oven. As soon as they were cooked through, but long before they were dry, I yanked them out. After a few minutes on a cooling rack, I repeatedly brushed glaze over their puffy tops. They are by far best eaten still warm. But this time my adaptations kept them moist much longer. I read somewhere that poppy seeds can dry out baked goods, so moisture level is important here. The batter will not be runny, but it should be "wet" throughout. Mix it just until there are no dry lumps. If you find your batter too dry (which could be caused by several conditions), add a little extra lemon juice or yogurt.

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (or you can use all white flour for a true cake-like consistency)
1 Tbsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. poppy seeds
10 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 ½ cups plain yogurt

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 Tbsp. lemon zest

Glaze:

2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 cup powdered sugar

DIRECTIONS
1. Adjust the oven rack to the middle-lower part of the oven. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, poppy seeds, and salt and set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together, beating until fluffy (about 2 minutes with an electric mixer). Add eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated after each one. Beat in the lemon zest and 1 Tbsp. lemon juice.

4. Beat in one half of the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Beat in one third of the yogurt. Beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients. Beat in a second third of the yogurt. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients and then the remaining yogurt. Again be careful to beat until just incorporated. Do not over beat.

5. Use a standard 12-muffin muffin pan. Distribute the muffin dough equally among the cups. Bake until muffins are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Test with a long toothpick to make sure the center of the muffins are done. Set muffin pan on wire rack to cool. After 5 minutes, remove muffins from pan.

6. While the muffins are cooling, in a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice for the glaze. Add more lemon juice if necessary. While the muffins are still a bit warm, use a pastry brush to brush the glaze over each muffin. The muffins will absorb some of the glaze, so you add more glaze to each muffin if you like. Best eaten fresh and warm.

Makes 18 muffins.

(Adapted from Simply Recipes)