meyer lemon poppyseed muffins :: guest post

Today, we have a wildly special guest post by Melissa of The Faux Martha who is one of the most inspirational food bloggers out there! Not only is this gal insanely talented in the kitchen, Melissa also happens to be unbelievably beautiful and an absolute sweetheart.  Do yourself a favor and check out The Faux Martha for gobs of culinary inspiration!  Take it away, Melissa!

I was super excited when the very sweet and lovely, not to mention talented, Jess invited me over to guest post. We were destined to be friends from birth, and the blogging world brought us together. Both from Texas. (Although now I live in Chicago.) Both Martha lovers, or something like that. Both baking fanatics. And both mini cake makers. Can you hear the angels singing?

I asked her if lemon poppyseed muffins were ok. Not only were they ok. They were her favorite growing up. And you'll never guess—they were my favorite too. My mom wasn't much of a baker. Saturday mornings, though, she'd break out a box of Krusteaz Lemon Poppyseed mix. We'd go gaga over them. So moist and lemony. And then one day I grew up and said goodbye to boxed food. And therefore said goodbye to lemon poppyseed muffins. They were all I knew. Until now. I peeked into one of my favorite cookbooks—King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking. Low and behold there it was—a lemon poppyseed bread recipe. I tweaked the recipe to work muffin style. And subbed in Meyer lemons since they're in season and a tiny bit sweeter. Their color so golden they're almost orange. Although not gluten free (Jess can you help me here?), they are packed with whole grain goodness. Forget that I even listed a half a stick of butter in the recipe. The greek yogurt will balance it out. And promise me you won't skip the glaze. It'll make you go gaga over these made from scratch muffins.

Meyer Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking; makes 6 large muffins or 9 regular muffins

3/4 c. white whole wheat flour
1/4 c. oat flour
1/4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 c. (half a stick) unsalted butter
1/2 c. sugar
1 large egg
1 tbsp. grated lemon zest
1/4 c. fresh meyer lemon juice
1/3 c. plain greek yogurt
1 tbsp. poppy seeds

Glaze
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. fresh meyer lemon juice
1/2 tsp. milk or cream

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray or line muffin tin and set aside. 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a larger bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg. Add in zest. Mix well. 
4. Using a spatula fold in a third of the flour mixture at a time alternating with the lemon juice. Fold in yogurt and poppy seeds. Stir until just combined. 
5. Equally divide batter into the muffin tin. For larger muffins, only fill six. For smaller muffins, fill nine. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven and cool.
6. Meanwhile, make glaze. Whisk together ingredients. Once muffins have cooled, brush or drizzle just before serving. 

Side notes:

• Baking muffins at a higher temperature help them to peak or crown better, giving them height. I typically bake muffins at 400 degrees and adjust the baking time accordingly. 
• If you don't have any oat flour, grind up rolled oats in your food processor until fine. 
• Over mixing the muffins will result in a dense and tough muffin.