The most tender, moist, light, fluffy, and tangy lemon poppyseed muffins with a sweet lemon glaze. The best lemon poppyseed muffin recipe!
I have been on a quest to make the most perfect lemon poppyseed muffin. I love being a baking scientist in the kitchen! I get super passionate about being a full-on nerd and studying all things baking.
I have been experimenting with these lemon poppyseed muffins for awhile now -- tweaking them to get them just perfect. I was looking for a tender, moist crumb with a good amount of fresh lemon flavor plus to see if it could stay soft for a few days. We have the final poppyseed muffin recipe and it is a winner!
Here are the key baking tips when making these lemon muffins. I prefer a mix of both butter and oil for both flavor and texture benefits. The addition of sour cream plus buttermilk (or whole milk) just puts it over the top! You want to ensure the lemon flavor is coming through with both lemon zest and lemon juice.
Oh, and the sweet lemon glaze on the top is essential. This just makes them taste more gourmet and adds in a touch of lemon tanginess and sweetness. I love to sprinkle on sparkling sugar right before baking. It adds a tiny little sweet crunch to the top of the muffins and brings in the luxurious bakery experience.
What size should I make these Homemade Lemon Poppyseed Muffins?
You can use either a 12-cup muffin pan for 12 regular-sized muffins or use the 6-cup jumbo muffin pan for bakery-sized muffins. I used the 6-muffin pan for the muffins in these photos.
Note: you will need to add additional baking time for the larger muffins. I will include both baking times in the recipe card. I suggest using muffin liners if using the 6-muffin pan to make it easier to remove the muffins. I suggest lightly spraying the muffin liners with non-stick cooking spray.
What ingredients are in Lemon Poppyseed Muffins?
- Butter
- Sugar
- Oil
- Eggs
- Fresh Lemon Juice
- Fresh Lemon Zest
- Buttermilk or Whole Milk
- Sour Cream
- Poppyseeds
- Flour
- Baking Powder
- Salt
The use of both butter and oil gives the flavor benefits from the butter and the oil gives the muffins a moist texture. The use of sour cream and milk gives the lemon muffins a soft, tender texture. A mix of freshly squeezed lemon juice and grated lemon zest gives it that tangy lemon flavor. I suggest using fresh lemons for the juice.
What baking tools do I need to make Lemon Poppyseed Muffins:
- USA 12-Cup Muffin Pan
- USA 6-Cup Giant Bakery-Style Muffin Pan for larger muffins
- OXO Standard 5-Qt Everyday Mixing Bowl
- OXO Whisk
Brenda
Very quick and easy to put together. I am still waiting for them to cool, but I am positive that they are delicious! I have tasted the batter and can hardly wait to taste the finished product. Make these if you are a lemon lover like me!
Freya Petersen
Great muffins as with all your recipes. Question I would like to make these for someone who is diabetic. Can I use the sugars that I use on my low carb diet Sverve?
mswrkmn
I made these today for my cafe. Staff and I shared one and OMG we were loving these. I hope we have some left for customers!
KFD
We have so many lemons on our tree right now, so I'm trying all your lemon recipes...and every one so far I have loved! These muffins are honestly decadent...and that is a good thing!
Karyn Banfield
I had fresh lemons in my refrigerator and when I saw this recipe and knew I needed to make them. They are delicious! My husband could not wait until they cooled to try them. DELICIOUS!
Anna
These are the BEST homemade lemon poppyseed muffins! Melissa - you are the Queen of baked goods in our house (completely obsessed with your yellow cake and literally all your cookies ha) and you completely nailed IT with this recipe!