Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

These are great lemon poppy seed muffins. The lemon flavor is mild and the texture of the muffins is great - not at all like a cupcake. I hate it when muffins taste like cupcakes. I like them to be a little denser with a good muffiny crumb and these fit the bill. I got the recipe from Brown Eyed Baker, a site with so many great baked goods recipes.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

2/3 cup sugar
zest of 1 lemon (you will use the juice too)
2 cups all purpose flour (plus 2 tablespoons for high altitude)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
juice of 1 lemon (plus 2 tablespoons water for high altitude)
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons poppy seeds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and place rack in the center spot in your oven. Place 16 paper muffin cups into muffin tins (you may get 14-16 muffins depending on how you scoop them).

In a large bowl rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingers until sugar is moist and smells like lemon. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and whisk to combine. In another bowl combine sour cream, eggs, and vanilla. Stir. Add this wet mixture to the flour mixture and stir a bit. Add the lemon juice (and water if you're at a high altitude) and melted butter and stir quickly until just mixed. Add poppy seeds and stir until evenly distributed, making sure you don't over-mix the batter. Using a large cookie scoop fill the muffin cups (about 2/3 full).

Bake for 18-20 minutes at 400 until tops are golden. Cool muffins on a rack. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temp.