Glazed Lemon Poppyseed Mini Muffins

Lemon poppyseed muffins cooling on a rack.

Want a flavorful muffin recipe to satisfy your morning sweet tooth without overindulging? Glazed Lemon Poppyseed Mini Muffins are the easy answer.

flour eggs and meyer lemons

Diminutive.  Petite.  Small.  Wee.  Minute.  PeeWee.  Teensy.  Pint-sized.  Itsy-bitsy.  What is it about  foods shrunken down to a bite-sized capacity that creates such a buzz?  Just the idea of sliderschicken drumettes,  sweet and savory tartlets,  or individual-sized quiche cups – conjures images of fun, festive times, right?   The same goes for these Glazed Lemon Poppyseed Mini Muffins!  

mixing wet ingredients

Little two-bite wonders that make a coffee break feel like an occasion!  I made these muffin-ettes with Mother’s Day in mind.  

My Mom is fairly health conscious.  Her diet skews more towards fresh vegetables and grilled seafood than pastas and sweets.  

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flour, poppyseed and whisk

I know that if I put a basket of fresh full-sized muffins in front of her, she’d resist.  

If anything she’d insist on splitting one with my Dad (who, by the way has no such hesitation about polishing off a whole muffin or two himself).

muffin batter

But if I served her a basket of mini-muffins — that’s a different story.  I mean, it’s mini.  Ergo, less calories, less sugar.  They’re a minor infraction, not something that derails all good intentions for the day.  She’d definitely have one or two – or three.  

muffins in a tin
baked muffins in a tin

Why not?  They’re lilliputian versions of their bigger counterparts!   And these muffins aren’t weighty sugar bombs! Instead they have a bright kick of lemon and a sweet glaze that only makes them feel indulgent!  

meyer lemon

They add a lighthearted air to a special breakfast or brunch.  And when the kids make them for Mom, she’ll feel very special — which is the whole point of Mother’s Day, right?

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins on a rack

This recipe is one that can easily be assembled by small hands with a grownup supervising.  Have the little ones whisk the dry ingredients in one bowl and wet in another.  Then mix them together.  Older children (or a grown-up) should spoon the batter into the muffin tins to bake.  Once they’ve cooled, let the kids go to town glazing them!   Glazed Lemon Poppyseed Mini Muffins will make Mom’s day!

Glazed Lemon Poppyseed Mini Muffins

Glazing the lemon poppyseed muffins

The simple glaze is a mixture of powdered sugar and lemon juice (for a tangy glaze) or milk (for a creamy light, sweet glaze). Just mix together until the powdered sugar is dissolved and drizzle the mixture over the cooled lemon poppyseed muffins.

Glazed Lemon Poppyseed Mini Muffins on a tray
Glazed Lemon Poppyseed Mini Muffins with a bite taken.

More mini muffin recipes:

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Glazed Lemon Poppyseed Mini Muffins | Garlic + Zest
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3.39 from 13 votes

Glazed Lemon Poppyseed Mini Muffins

I used Meyer Lemons in this recipe, but conventional lemons work just as well.
Author: Lisa Lotts
Course Breakfast, Snack
Cuisine American
Keyword lemon, muffins
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 12 minutes
Servings 12

INGREDIENTS:

For the Muffins

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon poppyseeds
  • ¼ cup canola oil
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon lemon extract
  • 2 Meyer lemons zested, or one regular lemon, zested
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice

For the Glaze

  • 2 cup powdered sugar
  • 2-3 tablespoons lemon juice or milk — if you like tart, use lemon — for sweet, use milk

DIRECTIONS:

  • Preheat the oven to 425°. Spray mini muffin tins with vegetable spray or place mini muffin liners in the pan. Set aside.
  • In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and poppyseeds.
  • In a large bowl whisk together the the milk, canola oil, eggs and lemon extract, and lemon zest and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir just until combined.
  • Spoon the batter into the muffin cups and bake for 11-13 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Remove from oven and and let cool for 5 minutes before turning the muffins out onto a wire cooling rack.
  • Meanwhile, stir together the powdered sugar and juice or milk until smooth. Make sure the muffins are room temperature, then drizzle them with the glaze.

NOTES:

If you prefer a tart glaze — use lemon juice for the glaze. If you prefer a sweet glaze, use the milk.
To make full-sized muffins, use a regular muffin tin and cook the muffins for 20 minutes.

NUTRITION:

Calories: 256kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 29mg | Sodium: 118mg | Potassium: 165mg | Sugar: 29g | Vitamin A: 75IU | Vitamin C: 2.1mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 1.2mg

“Pin It” For Later!

Need a quick & easy muffin recipe? Glazed Lemon Poppyseed Mini Muffins are great for entertaining. Soft & light they're first to go at breakfast or brunch. #muffins #brunch #breakfast #entertaining #minimuffins #quickbread #lemon #poppyseed #christmas #easter #sweet

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15 Comments

  1. 4 stars
    Tried this recipe for a Royal wedding brunch today! The flavor was amazing but the cake was very dry- next time I will try adding more oil or some sour cream to mix maybe. For icing I did 3 tbsp milk and 2 tbsp lemon juice added to the powdered sugar and was perfect 🙂

    1. Wasn’t that wedding amazing?!! I watched in my pjs with a cup of coffee and warmed up blueberry scones. I will revisit the recipe per your comments. Thanks for your input!

  2. Well gave them a try. I had to bring oven down to 375. 425 was way too hot. Also need to add a bit more oil to this recipe. They baked in 10 minutes at 375 and seemed dry. Going to give them another go thought. The flavor was great.

  3. Gonna give these a try tomorrow. They look great and wonderful photos too!

    1. Thanks for letting me know — Enjoy them Christoph!

  4. These look so great!! I love all things lemon flavored and this looks amazing!

  5. I am totally going to make these for my son to take in his lunch!!

  6. These look so cute n delicious Lisa. The combination of lemon with poppyseed is so yum, can’t wait to try them soon.

  7. I love everything about these! Lemon, poppyseed, and mini….a perfect trifecta if you ask me! ?

  8. Yum, these look great!