Gluten Free Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Gluten-Free Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter salted
- 1 ¼ cups sugar granulated
- 2 eggs large, whole
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 lemon zested
- 1 ¾ cups oat flour
- ½ tsp salt
- 2 tsps baking powder
- ½ cup almond milk unsweetened
- 2 tbsps poppy seed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with silicone cupcake liners and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened salted butter and granulated sugar together until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. This creaming step is important for creating a tender muffin so do not rush it.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition until fully incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and lemon zest and mix until combined.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the oat flour, baking powder, poppy seeds, and sea salt until evenly combined.
- Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture in three additions, alternating with the almond milk. Start and end with the dry mixture. Stir gently between each addition just until combined. Do not overmix or the muffins will be dense rather than tender.
- Divide the batter evenly between the 12 lined cups, filling each one about two thirds full. The batter will rise as it bakes so do not overfill.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the tops are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack. They will continue to set as they cool so give them the full time before handling.
Nutrition
I love lemon. It is by far one of my favorite flavors in any baked goods. It is one of my preferred when it comes to a birthday cake too…. I mean I guess it makes sense though because I have a summer birthday and we want fresh… fruit flavored… at least me.
These are bright and a little sweet. They hit that mark and do it with oat flour, which means they work for anyone eating gluten free without any specialty ingredients or complicated substitutions. This is a whole other battle… gluten-free baked treats don’t always come together just as you would hope. You’ve gotta find just the right recipe.
The lemon zest is what makes these worth making. Not lemon juice, not lemon extract… actual fresh lemon zest folded into the batter. It gives the muffins a clean, bright citrus flavor that bakes into every bite rather than sitting on top of it. The poppy seeds add a subtle crunch and that classic look that makes them instantly recognizable as lemon poppy seed muffins before anyone even takes a bite.
These make 12 muffins at 242 calories each and they keep well through the week, which makes them a solid option for a make ahead breakfast or an afternoon snack that feels a little special without requiring much effort to put together.
What Makes These Work
Oat flour behaves differently than all purpose flour in baking. It produces a slightly denser, more tender crumb that works really well in muffins. The key to keeping that texture light rather than heavy is the creaming step at the beginning and not overmixing once the dry ingredients go in. Both of those things matter more with oat flour than they would with a traditional flour.
Alternating the dry mixture and the almond milk when combining the batter is a standard technique but it is especially important here. Adding all the dry ingredients at once with oat flour can create a thick, unworkable batter. Adding them in stages with the milk in between keeps everything smooth and evenly combined.
A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Start
Make sure your butter is softened before you start. Cold butter will not cream properly with the sugar and you will end up with a lumpy mixture that does not incorporate well. Leave it on the counter for about 30 minutes before you begin or cut it into small pieces to speed up the process.
Zest the lemon before you do anything else. It is much easier to zest a whole lemon than one you have already cut into. Use a microplane or the fine side of a box grater and only take the bright yellow outer layer, not the white pith underneath which is bitter.
Fill each muffin cup only two thirds full. Oat flour muffins rise a little differently than traditional muffins and overfilling will cause them to spill over the edges and bake together rather than forming individual domed tops.
Let them cool the full 10 minutes in the pan before moving them. They are fragile straight out of the oven and they need that time to set before you handle them.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days or in the fridge for up to five days. They also freeze well… wrap individually and freeze for up to two months. Thaw at room temperature for about an hour or microwave for 30 seconds.
