One of my absolute favorite treats is lemon-poppy seed muffins. When I lived in South Africa I would have them all the time because it was readily available. I could not make them in Korea previously because I did not have poppy seeds. Fortunately, I have a mom who loves making me happy. She brought me a big bag of poppy seeds when she visited me. The next step was finding the perfect recipe. I tried a few but it wasn’t anything to write about. Finally, while searching for a pumpkin pie recipe, on Pinterest, I stumbled upon a treasure of a recipe.
My first attempt at it produced a flat, dry, cake. I was extremely disappointed. I felt like I had failed a big test. To paraphrase a famous saying, “if at first you don’t succeed, eat 
the bad muffins, and make a new batch.” That’s exactly what I did.
My second attempt produced an amazing, thick, lemon fragrant batter. From that alone I knew that these muffins were going to be a hit. I stood in front of the oven watching them cook, like a little child. 20 minutes later I had beautiful, fluffy lemon-poppy seed muffins. It’s full of flavor and comfort.
Try it for yourself, the proof is definitely in the eating.
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter (4 tablespoons/57g)
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla (or almond) extract
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- ¾ cup plain fat free greek yogurt
- 1 tablespoon poppy seeds (add more if you like)
- 1⅓ cups flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Method: Mix the ingredients in the order they appear. Bake for 20 min
utes, at 180 degrees celcius. Check if the muffins are done with a toothpick. Lower the heat and cook for an additional 5 to 10 minutes if the muffins require more time in the oven.
