Bakery Style Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins (Ultra Moist!)

These Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins are topped with a sweet and simple lemon glaze, are quick, easy, and delicious without visiting a bakery shop! Get ready to experience bakery-style muffins with tall, fluffy tops and a crown of citrus perfection.

From breakfast to snack time or even as a dessert, these lemon muffins are sure to brighten your day and leave you craving more.

We love scrumptious citrus desserts, from lemon bread, lemon blueberry bread, frosted lemonade to coconut lime cake. These easy treats are tried and true family faves.

🛒Ingredients

Quick tip: Use room-temperature ingredients! Let eggs and other refrigerated ingredients come to room temperature before use. This helps with better incorporation and smoother batter.

• Plain unsweetened yogurt - Adding yogurt to the recipe creates a tender texture and prevents dryness in the muffins. Choose your preferred brand of plain yogurt, but avoid non-fat options. I haven't tried Greek yogurt here as it would be too thick for these muffins. For the best results, opt for whole milk yogurt with a fat content between 2 and 5 percent. 
• All-purpose flour - use a spoon and level method for measuring your flour accurately.
• Fresh Lemons - for an abundance of fresh lemon flavor in these delicious muffins, we'll incorporate both lemon zest and lemon juice into the batter, as well as use lemon juice in the glaze. 
• Baking soda - creates fluffy muffins and helps them to rise. To ensure its effectiveness, store it correctly and check its expiration date. If baking soda has been opened for more than 6 months, it's probably no good and has lost its essential properties. Additionally, I've seen that some people recommend aluminum-free baking soda, but it's worth noting that not all baking soda and baking powder contain aluminum.
• Sugar - you can use light brown sugar if you don't have a white one. In this case, the color of the muffins will be slightly darker.

Can I make these into mini muffins instead?

Yes! Follow the recipe instructions to prepare the lemon muffin batter. Grease or line a 24-count mini muffin pan with mini cupcake liners.

Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C), then fill each muffin liner with approximately 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of the lemon muffin batter.

Bake for 12-14 minutes, yielding about 36 mini muffins. 

📋Tips

• After combining the wet and dry ingredients, the baking soda initiates its chemical process, so it's crucial to bake the muffins immediately. For this recipe, avoid leaving the batter sitting on the kitchen counter for too long.
• I find that Lemon extract is not needed here but if you like, for an ''authentic'' bakery-style muffins, you can add ½ teaspoon of lemon extract to the batter.
• For these muffins, I prefer baking them at a high temperature, allowing me to fill the muffin tins almost to the top. This high-temperature baking helps the muffins rise quickly, resulting in a moist and tender center.
• A trick I learned from an old cookbook - By rubbing the lemon zest into the granulated sugar, you'll infuse the sugar with lemon fragrance. This technique is a secret to success in other lemon-infused recipes like lemon cookies and lemon bread.
• Always zest your lemon before squeezing, and be careful not to include the bitter white layer (pith) beneath the yellow exterior, as it could make the muffins bitter.
• To get the most juice from the lemon, roll it on the counter before cutting and squeezing.
• Use Greek yogurt or thicker alternatives like skyr, not plain yogurt, to avoid excess moisture in the batter.
• Don't overmix - Be cautious not to overmix the batter, as it can result in dense muffins. Stir until just combined.
• Room temperature ingredients - For best results, bring eggs, butter, and yogurt to room temperature before using them in the recipe. Room-temperature ingredients mix more evenly and result in a smoother batter.
• Baking time - Keep a close eye on the muffins while they bake. Start checking for doneness a few minutes before the minimum suggested baking time to avoid overbaking.
• Let the muffins cool - To add the glaze, make sure the muffins are completely cooled before drizzling it on top. This prevents the glaze from melting too quickly.
• Avoid opening the oven door too frequently can cause temperature fluctuations and muffins will not bake evenly.

Tips for Zesting a Lemon for Baking:

• The zest is the yellow part of the peel, rich in flavor. Be careful not to include the bitter white part underneath.
• Wash the lemon and thoroughly towel dry it before zesting. Always zest before juicing.
• Use a microplane grater - which is designed for zesting citrus; it's easier and more effective than a regular box grater. The fine zest melts seamlessly into baking batters.
• Give three quick back and forth motions to each section of the lemon to capture all the aromatic zest.
• Zest the lemon just before using it in a recipe to retain its potency, as it dries out quickly.