Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

School is back in session across the nation for many students. This year, I happen to be one of those as I have just signed up for the Harvard edX.org class Science & Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science. I am excited at the opportunity to learn more about the science behind my cooking and baking. It looks to be a challenging course and I hope to be able keep up.

In order to put my best foot forward, as any student knows, its usually best to start with a good breakfast. The normal oats, cereal, or eggs might do for an ordinary day, but this week, starting my new class, I wanted a treat!

So let me introduce you to this Lemon Poppy Seed Muffin from simplyrecipes.com (which funny enough, is where I found out about the class to begin with). It is labeled as a muffin, but its bordering on the line of a cupcake. Perfect for a morning pick me up before diving into the studies! These muffins are moist, delicious, and packed with a fresh lemony flavor. The sweet lemon glaze brushed over the top takes these little guys to the next level. The only problem I see is I did not bake enough for the other 45,000 students.

Ingredients: (yields 12 muffins)

• 3 cups of all purpose flour
• 1 Tablespoon of baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 2 tablespoon of poppy seeds
• 10 tablespoons of unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup of sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups of plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon of lemon zest

I began by preheating the oven to 375 degrees and lining a muffin tin with paper liners.

In a large bowl I whisked together 3 cups of flour, 1 tablespoon of baking powder, 1/2 of a teaspoon of baking soda, 2 tablespoons of poppy seeds, and 1/2 of a teaspoon of salt. I set this aside for later.

Then in the mixer bowl I creamed together 10 tablespoons of butter and 1 cup of sugar until fluffy. That took about 2 minutes.

To the sugar I added 2 eggs one at a time. I mixed until incorporated.

Then I mixed in 1 tablespoon of lemon zest. I mixed until combined.

I added the flour mixture in three equal parts and the yogurt in three equal parts alternating between the two. I started with the four mixture and ended with the yogurt. I made sure to mix just until incorporated and made sure not to over mix.

Then I evenly divided the batter into the muffin pan.

I baked the muffins on the middle rack of the oven for 25 minutes and until they started to turn golden brown. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.

I let the muffins cool while I started on the glaze.

In a small bowl I mixed together 1 cup of confectioners sugar and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice.

Then I used a pastry brush to brush the glaze over the tops of the muffins while they were still slightly warm.