Wake up to a bright morning with these sweet and tangy Gluten Free Lemon Poppyseed Muffins. Your breakfast guests will be delighted.
Wait, what??? It’s not spring? Are you sure???
I’m pretty convinced I can pretend it’s any season I want it to be since the weather really doesn’t change all that much over here.
For example: I have a pumpkin scented candle burning (fall) while setting out Christmas decorations that I just bought deciding which ones to keep (winter) sipping on a tropical smoothie (summer) writing about some phenomenal lemon poppyseed muffins I just made…and inhaled (spring). See, I’ve got all my seasons covered.
And with all the swimming and beach bathing we do, it’s pretty safe to say we live in summer year round on this island. And that is NO complaint. Not in the least. Give me ALL the summer!!!
As much as I love the constant beautiful weather of Hawaii, I do find myself a little longing for a change in season. I want to put on a hoody, nuke a mug of hot chocolate, curl up on the couch, and cuddle underneath a stack of fuzzy blankets. Is that too much to ask???! Yeah, probably.
I have never been a fan of scented candles. Actually, I’m not a fan of scents in general.
Perfume???
Gag!
Flowery lotions???
Bleh!
Car fresheners???
BARF!!!
Ben’s cologne???
Suffocating!!! It wouldn’t be so bad if he would just use one spray and kind of walk into it, but I swear he bathes in it. And not only does he coat on cologne, but he combines it with scented shampoo, scented body wash, scented shaving cream, AND scented deodorant. Ugh! BUT, I do still love you babe!!!
With all this intense disdain for nose singeing scents, I was quite surprised to find myself sniffing all the autumn flavored candles in the store the other day and even more surprised that I bought two of them. Who am I??? I guess I’m just that desperate for a little fall in my life. I’m going to have to buy some wintery candles to fake myself into feeling like it’s Christmas pretty soon.
But come spring, I’ve got that covered. No need for any fancy candles because I’m just going to plan on baking these Gluten Free Lemon Poppyseed Muffins on a weekly basis. Emry would love me forever if I added these muffins to her routine breakfast schedule.
In fact, I made these muffins because of Emry. She had been begging me for weeks to make her muffins, which is kind of weird since she doesn’t really love muffins that way Braelyn does. But, I had just made these pumpkin muffins that she LOVED so she was on a total muffin kick after that.
Anyway, with the hustle and bustle of school in the mornings, ain’t nobody got time to whip up a batch of muffins per an impatient 4 year old’s request. So I made her wait until the weekend…or a few weekends…before I finally had some time.
Her muffin flavor of choice just so happened to be lemon poppyseed. She had remembered these Costco lemon muffins a few months back that she had eaten at a friend’s house and was quite certain that I could recreate them. Because, hello, isn’t mom supposed to be Superwoman or something???
Well, in this case I was because these muffins turned out superb!!! The last time I tried to make lemon muffins they were TERRIBLE!!! I used waaayyyyyy too much lemon juice and had to throw the entire batch away.
But this time?
This time was pure success! These muffins are light and tangy and oh so sweet. They have the perfect balance of sweet vanilla and tart lemon with an extra touch of almond extract. They are delicious eaten alone, or even more superb topped with a tangy lemon glaze. You choose your own personal preference for consumption. Yum yum!
I love that this recipe makes a perfect dozen standard sized muffins. Instead of a larger recipe where you have to find room in your freezer for all the leftovers, this recipe makes just enough to satisfy your breakfast/snacking cravings for a few days without having to discard any leftovers. Our little family of four can definitely go through a batch before they get old.
And if you’re going to make these muffins, fresh lemons are the way to go. You can get by with using the store bought lemon juice, but let’s all admit that there is nothing quite like the flavor of a fresh squeezed lemon. If you want even more lemon flavor in your muffins, go ahead and add some zest to the batter or even the glaze. I would have done that, but I thought my girls would complain about the texture of the zest in the glaze. Picky, picky.
Oh, and don’t worry, Emry has already been putting the pressure back on to make her another satisfactory breakfast of pancakes, muffins, or waffles. I guess the muffins didn’t last long enough. Time to replenish the stock.
So who cares that it’s fall. Nobody ever follows the rules anyway. Take a break from the rich autumn flavors and add some freshness to your holidays. These lemon poppyseed muffins will give you the boost you need.
What is your favorite flavor of spring?
- For the muffins:
- 1 stick butter, melted (8 tablespoons)
- ¾ cup organic cane sugar
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 large eggs
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
- ½ cup white rice flour
- ½ cup brown rice flour
- ½ cup sweet sorghum flour
- ½ cup potato starch
- 2 tablespoons tapioca starch
- ½ cup milk (3/4?)
- 1 tablespoon poppyseeds
- For the glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoons milk
- splash of vanilla
- splash of almond extract
- Toppings:
- slivered almonds
- pinch of salt
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line standard 12 muffin tin with paper liners. Set aside.
- In a medium sized microwavable mixing bowl, melt butter on high for 30 seconds until liquid. Add cane sugar and maple syrup. Whisk until sugar is dissolved. Add eggs, lemon juice, vanilla, and almond extract. Whisk until smooth.
- Add salt, baking powder, baking soda, and xanthan gum and whisk until incorporated. Add brown rice flour, white rice flour, sorghum flour, potato starch, and tapioca starch and stir until well incorporated. Whisk in milk and stir until smooth. Fold in poppyseeds.
- Fill muffin liners ⅔ way full with batter. Bake at 375 for 18-22 minutes or until tops spring back at touch of a finger and toothpick inserted into center of muffin comes out clean. Remove from oven and carefully transfer from pan to cooling rack. Allow to completely cool before glazing.
- To make glaze, combine all ingredients into a small bowl big enough to fit muffin tops and stir until smooth. Add more milk if you need thinner, or more lemon juice depending on taste preference. Dip muffins in glaze and top with slivered almonds.
- Store leftover muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in freezer for up to 3 months.
