Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

Here is this week's column in The Hinton Voice (my local newspaper).  Enjoy! 

[I absolutely hate cleaning.  I'd literally rather be doing anything other than cleaning my house.  A root canal, for instance, sounds like a lot more fun than cleaning.

I have friends that say crazy things like "folding laundry relaxes me" and "doing the dishes is my "me" time, it's my own personal Zen".  Liars, all of them.  People can't actually enjoy these activities, can they? 

Having said that, you can imagine how joyous I was the other day I was while I cleaning my entire kitchen from top to bottom.  I dusted off my cleaning supplies (trust me, I get the irony), and scrubbed the counters until they glistened.  I did all of the dishes, even washing all of my "hand wash only" items that have been there so long it feels like I re-decorated when I finally put them away.  

Then last night, as I finished putting away the final dish, I did what anyone would do upon seeing a completely clean kitchen for the first time in days weeks.  I went and messed it all up again.  It didn't matter that the clock said it was past 9 pm, I was making muffins, and not just your regular, run of the mill, 1 bowl and you're done kind of muffins.  Nope, I decided to pull out my new lemon zester, one of the hardest to clean kitchen tools known to man, and make these lemon poppy seed muffins instead. 

These muffins are everything you ever wanted in a fluffy pastry package.  The batter is light and airy with a deliciously creamy texture that pairs incredibly with the zesty tartness of the lemon.  They are perfect for any of the lemon lovers in your life. 

In completely unrelated news, my lemon zester now fondly rests in the "hand wash only" zone until the next time I plan on re-decorating.]

Recipe makes 18 muffins

Ingredients

- 2 tbsp lemon zest

- 1 cup granulated sugar

- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened

- 4 eggs

- 1/4 cup lemon juice

- 2-3 drops lemon oil (optional)

- 2 cups all-purpose flour

- 2 tbsp poppy seeds

- 3/4 tsp baking powder

- 1/2 tsp baking soda

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 1/2 cup plain yogurt

Icing

- 1 cup icing sugar

- 2 tbsp lemon juice

Glaze

- 1/2 icing recipe (above)

- 2 tsp lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line muffin tins with baking cups.

Combine granulated sugar with lemon zest.  Mix well, and let sit for about at least an hour to allow the oils of the lemon zest combine with the sugar.

In a mixer fit with the whisk attachment, cream together butter and lemon sugar.  Add eggs one at a time, and continue to whisk. Add lemon juice and lemon oil and mix well.  Remove bowl from mixer.

In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients (flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, salt), and then slowly fold into the wet ingredients using a spatula, being careful not to over mix.  Finally, fold in the yogurt.

Place batter in muffin tins until about ¾ full and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until tops of muffins are golden brown.

While muffins are baking, mix together icing and glaze.  Glaze muffins while they are still slightly warm, then top with remaining icing and a curl of lemon.

- Nutritional Info (per muffin) -

Calories - 197   Fat - 11    Carbs - 21     Protein - 3   Fibre - 1

Enjoy!