I can’t decide whether these Gluten Free Lemon Poppyseed Muffins should be considered dessert or breakfast! They’re just that yummy!
ME BEFORE THE RECIPE…
Do you ever have good intentions that backfire miserably??? Welcome to my life as a parent. It’s a for real struggle because I have extremely strong opinions on how things are to be done (also read as: I’m a self proclaimed CONTROL FREAK).
Funny thing is, when you throw children into the mix, it reduces your chances of tasks being performed “correctly” by about five hundred percent. Basically you can’t count on anything being completed the way you had envisioned. Oh well.
Just the other day I was bound and determined to resurrect our nightly Bible study. We already have our nightly scripture reading, but this Bible study program is meant to be more engaging with the kids and introduces particular topics that can be discussed as a family. We were going to give it a go again!
It began fabulously. Both girls whipped out a notebook and prepared to take notes. Aw yes, things were off to a magical start. Then within moments of “scripture study” Emry was laughing and giggling and doodling who knows what on her paper. But, it was completely obvious that it had NOTHING to do with what we were learning. She was paying zero attention.
So, I quietly and kindly reminded her what we were doing and that it was important to listen. It wasn’t the time to be silly or disruptive.
Basically after my correction, she quieted down but still had no intention of actually listening. It was apparent that she was still doodling all over her paper and I assumed it still had nothing to do with the lesson, which happened to be about the importance of marriage. But, at least she was no longer being disruptive.
Fast forward twenty minutes. Once we finished our Bible study, I so happened to look at Emry’s paper and it was covered in word bubbles that she had drawn of all the words that had stood out to her during the lesson. Of all the things we talked about, these were the words written at the very top of her page: forucashun (fornication) and adolturey (adultery).
Oh. My. Goondess. I about died laughing. We literally skipped over most of that section of the lesson and I’m quite certain she doens’t even know what either of those words actually mean, but there they were smack dab on the top of her paper right next to a cartoon hippy looking Geses (Jesus).
So, you know, Bible study didn’t go quite as planned, but at least we tried, right?!
HERE COMES THE RECIPE…
Such is my life with baking. Some days are successes and other days are not in sync with the vision I had in my head. Some days I have marvelous plans and they turn out splendidly. Other days my “genius” plans end up in the garbage. And other times I bake masterpieces on a whim, forget to write down the recipes, and then struggle to recreate them.
Say hello to Gluten Free Lemon Poppyseed Muffins: the muffins that took over my life last week because I spent four days trying to remember how I baked my first perfect batch. Sigh.
I’ll tell you one thing though, I discovered you can never have too many sweet and tangy gluten free lemon poppyseed muffins laying around the house even if they aren’t 100% perfect. We gobbled ALL of the test batches up until I finally landed on the correct ratios that yielded me that first glorious batch of muffins.
It’s a good thing teacher appreciation week was last week because all of my kids’ teachers enjoyed a fresh gluten free lemon poppyseed muffin (along with other gifts) as a thanks for putting up with my children this school year.
Let me tell you why these gluten free lemon poppyseed muffins are so dang good:
- The texture is unreal. No weird gluten free guminess or graininess going on in these muffins. They are light and fluffy with that hearty kind of bite that every muffin should have.
- The flavor is mind blowing delicious! With 1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice and a tablespoon of lemon zest, you can’t miss that zippy lemon flavor. Plus they get jazzed up with an extra dose of lemon in the lemony glaze. Wowzer!
- They are beautiful! I don’t care how amazing something tastes, if it doesn’t look pretty, I don’t want to eat it. These muffins have a beautiful golden brown color and a dome on top that rivals the look of any gluten filled muffin out there.
- They are allergy friendly. Not only are these muffins gluten free, but they are DAIRY FREE too!!! Extra claps for all you dairy free peeps out there!
- They are simple. No hand or stand mixer involved. No creaming butter and sugar together. No warming up ingredients. No separate bowls. These are a one bowl, whisk with your hand kind of muffin. Easy peasy.
- They keep well. These gluten free lemon poppyseed muffins stay fresh at room temperature for about 3 days. They stay moist and flavorful sitting on the counter top, loosely covered. Or you can freeze them for up to 3 months and pull one out whenever you need a morning muffin fix.
This batter also makes the best little lemon cakes. I had a tiny bit of leftover batter after filling my muffin tin, so I baked up the excess in a mini spring form cake pan in my toaster oven. Talk about classy!
Now do you see why I’m so in love with these gluten free lemon poppyseed muffins?! They took a labor of love perfecting, but they were worth every cent of ingredients getting to that final family and friends approved recipe. I’m telling you, these muffins are sure to be a family favorite in no time.
YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY…
- Gluten Free Lemon Bars
- Gluten Free Lemon Almond Pound Cake
- Gluten Free Lemon Curd Macarons
- Gluten Free Sour Cream Lemon Cake
- Lemon Berry Oatmeal Muffins
Gluten Free Lemon Poppyseed Muffins
Ingredients
For the muffins
- 1/2 cup light tasting extra virgin olive oil or other cooking oil
- 2 eggs large
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice about 2 lemons
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest about 1 lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum if your flour blend doesn't already contain a gum
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 2 3/4 cups high quality gluten free flour or my preferred blend of 3/4 cup white rice flour, 3/4 cup brown rice flour, 3/4 cup almond flour, and 1/2 cup potato starch
- 1 tablespoon poppyseeds
For the glaze:
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
To make the muffins:
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together olive oil, eggs, sugar, honey, vanilla, milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest until well combined.
- Add xanthan gum (if needed), salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk to combine. Add gluten free flour blend and whisk until well incorporated, scraping down sides as needed. Fold in poppyseeds.
- Let batter rest for 10 minutes.
- While batter is resting, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper liners and set aside.
- Once batter has rested, fill muffin liners 3/4 way full. Bake in oven at 400 degrees for 20-22 minutes until golden brown and toothpick inserted into center of muffins comes out clean with few moist crumbs.
- Remove muffins from oven and set on cooling rack. Cool completely.
To make the glaze:
- In a small mixing bowl whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Add more powdered sugar for a thicker consistency or more lemon juice for a thinner consistency.*
Storing:
- Store muffins in a loosely covered container at room temperature for up to three days or in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
Oh! We’re in the middle of the recipe and realized that although the directions say to add the eggs, there is no mention of how many eggs in the ingredient list.
Oh shoot! I’m so sorry. It’s two eggs. I can’t believe I missed that. Thank you for pointing that out.
Ugh. I feel terrible that I missed that major ingredient. I hope you were able to salvage the batter. I know how frustrating that is to not have a recipe work out. I am truly sorry for that. Hopefully you will try again because these muffins are so delicious! Thank you again.
Hello, these muffins look so good! I love all things lemon & I’m GF so I can’t wait to try them. One quick question the first step in the instructions mentions eggs but I didn’t see eggs in the ingredients list…do these muffins need eggs or can I skip?? Thx so much 💖
Thank you so much for pointing that out! Somebody also sent me a message about that. I can’t believe I forgot that main ingredient. The recipe is fixed and should say two large eggs. These muffins are so good! I hope you try them. I just made a batch this morning. Yum!