Lemon-Poppyseed Cornbread Mini Muffins
As much as I love (LOVE!) giant lemon-poppyseed muffins from coffee shops, let’s face it – they’re not the healthiest. Also, I’ve never had good luck making them at home.
I’ve tried at least a dozen recipes (from trusted cookbooks, online sources, and even my culinary school baking manual), and have had the same problem each time – the tops cave in. I have no idea if there’s a problem with my oven, muffin pan, or something else.
While these concave muffins still taste great, everybody should be entitled to a firm muffin top. On your muffin. Not your pants. I digress . . .
I decided to take matters into my own hands and come up with my own recipe. First, I decided to make MINI muffins, so there’d be a much better chance they would get firmly cooked through without caving.
Also, I used a combination of whole wheat pastry flour and cornmeal, thinking that the cornmeal would add a bit of sturdiness.
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They totally worked! Not only were these cornbread mini muffins not concave, but in fact they were downright perky. They also have a super versatile flavor, thanks to them being a hybrid between traditional cornbread muffins and lemon-poppyseed muffins.
They can pair with a crockpot soup or hearty beef stew, as the subtle lemon flavor is a nice counterpoint to the richness of the meal.
Just like my blueberry buttermilk muffin recipe, they can also be eaten as is, or simply spread with a little bit of butter. And they’re perfect as part of brunch ideas for a crowd, smoked salmon platter or breakfast charcuterie board!
Psst – if you love lemon as much as I do, try my lemon zest pancakes!
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Lemon-Poppyseed Cornbread Mini Muffins
Ingredients
- Nonstick cooking spray
- ½ cup cornmeal
- ½ cup whole wheat pastry flour
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- Zest of 1 small lemon about 2 teaspoons
- Pinch of sea salt
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup milk
- 1 ½ teaspoons poppyseeds
- Juice of 1 small lemon about 1 1/2 tablespoons
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray mini muffin pan with cooking spray.
- In large bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest and salt. Add egg, oil, milk, poppyseeds and lemon juice; stir until just combined. Spoon batter into 20 prepared mini muffin cups (fill cups about 3/4 of the way full).
- Bake 8 to 9 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of muffin comes out clean. Cool muffins in pan on wire rack 5 minutes. Remove muffins from pan and transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
These lemon-poppyseed cornbread muffins look delicious, I just want to devour it off the screen! Thanks for sharing, Lori!