The Perfect Lemon Poppy Seed Muffin 🍋
Nibbles & Bites Issue #18: Is there anything worst than moving?
These lemon poppy seed muffins are bursting with bright a dynamic trio of lemon juice, zest and preserved lemon. These perfectly moist, tender muffins make for a delicious morning treat or afternoon snack alongside a cup of coffee or tea.
Hi all,
Sorry for the radio silence. Actually, scratch that - I’m on a mission to stop apologizing. The break from writing and developing personal recipes these past few weeks was necessary, but I’m so happy to be back at it! I hope you found the respite from my musings and recipes to be as rejuvenating as I did.
Over the last month, my life has been shoved into various boxes and scattered as we’ve moved apartments. In fact, I still have both of my nightstands, various throw pillows, clothing and a beloved pair of Nikes stashed at my parent’s apartment, and I need to find the time to haul them to Brooklyn.
Don’t get me wrong, the new apartment is really great but there is nothing about the act of moving (particularly in the August heat) that you have to be envious about. I schlepped so many items to be donated, scattered so many items to the curb of our street, and then across town for this move that I never want to purchase anything ever again (until I stumble upon something that is just too cute and too perfect to pass up).
Part of the beauty of New York is that anything dumped on the curb will be immediately taken. I left my instant pot, which was bought at the height of the instant pot craze and has been untouched since then, on the side of the street and I kid you not within twenty minutes someone had walked by and snatched it up! One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, you better believe it.
I have put the rest of our move-in project on the back burner for now to fully enjoy the rest of the summer and to escape the feverish heat of New York. I’ve run away to the white mountains of New Hampshire to visit family. There is nothing more satisfying than the moment when I get to trade in my walk below the blaring M train for a peaceful stroll through the forest surrounded by soft ferns and wildflowers.
I woke up this morning to some light rain, which postponed some of our hiking plans for the day, but served as the impetus to get back into the kitchen to perfect my lemon poppy seed muffin recipe, which I’m sharing today and incorporates lemon juice, zest, and a bit of preserved lemon to making them extra zippy, punchy and packed with intense lemon flavor.
I am particularly proud of this recipe because it results in muffins that aren’t overly sweet and greasy or oily like store bought versions tend to be. These homemade muffins are loaded with sour cream which makes them dense, moist, and perfectly tender. We’re getting ready for a house filled with guests, so I’m planning on putting a few of these in the freezer for snacking at a later date.
You could also bake them off with a bit of lemon curd or blueberry jam in the center, or glaze them with a mixture of confectioner’s sugar and lemon juice once they’re out of the oven and completely cooled. I personally think they’re most desirable straight out of the oven when they’re perfectly warm and tender. I hope you enjoy my recipe!
Ingredients:
⅔ cup granulated sugar
Zest of 2 lemons
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp preserved lemon puree
2 cups AP flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
¾ cup sour cream or greek yogurt
2 large eggs
1 stick of butter, melted and cooled
2 tbsp poppy seeds
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a muffin tin.
In a large bowl, combine the lemon zest and sugar. Gently massage the sugar into the lemon zest, allowing the oils from the lemon to release into the sugar. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, poppy seeds and salt. Whisk to combine.
Meanwhile, whisk to combine the sour cream, preserved lemon puree, lemon juice, eggs and cooled melted butter in a separate bowl. Pour all of the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients, and using a rubber spatula, mix to gently combine while being careful not to over mix. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared muffin tins.
Bake the muffins for 18 to 20 minutes until the tops are lightly golden brown and a knife inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean. Immediately transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Sweet Charlie boy and I are signing off until next time….