Lemon Lime Poppy Seed Muffins

I'll admit it, I basically took this recipe for lemon poppy seed muffins and changed a bunch of things about it. The first and obvious change was that I added lime to these muffins. There was only half of a lemon sitting in the fridge, so it was a good thing that there was a whole lime just waiting to be zested, cut open, and juiced.

The second change to the recipe was that I used plain yogurt instead of sour cream, which really brought out the tanginess of the lemon and lime. 

The last tweak I made to the recipe was that I used 1.5 tablespoons of poppy seeds instead of the 2 that the orignal recipe called for. You can add the full 2 tablespoons for poppy seeds if you want I can't stop you they're your muffins. I just didn't want to spend all day picking poppy seeds out of my teeth. 

Here is the copied recipe with a few my changes.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Bake Time: 18 to 20 minutes

• 2/3 cup sugar
• Grated zest and juice of ½ lemon and 1 lime
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¾ cup plain yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
• 1½ tablespoons poppy seeds

1. Preheat your oven to 400. Grease your regular sized muffin pan with butter, spray or really any kind of lipid that you want coating your muffins. 
2. In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon/lime zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the smell of lemon and lime engulfs your kitchen. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl whisk the yogurt, eggs, vanilla, lemon and lime juices and melted butter together until well blended. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and with a rubber spatula, gently stir to blend. DO NOT OVER STIR THE BATTER!  If you over stir the batter it'll result in tuff and chewy muffins. Lumpy batter is ideal. Stir in the poppy seeds. Divide the batter evenly among the muffins cups.
3. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for a few minutes before carefully removing each muffin from its mold. Store leftovers (if there are any) in an airtight container at room temperature.

Then just crack a couple open with your morning coffee, slap on some butter and enjoy! I feel the lime and yogurt gives the muffins a more complex and tangy flavor that complements the poppy seeds. 

Photos by Katy Weaver