Almond Poppy Seed Muffins ~ this is the classic almond poppy seed muffin recipe that gets everybody out of bed in the morning!
The other day I woke up hungry and came down to an empty kitchen. I hate when that happens. I can usually crank along for a while on a few cups of coffee, but eventually the gig is up and I need breakfast. I haven’t made muffins in ages, which is surprising since I love them so much. I guess I got distracted by this and this and these. But I can always be tempted by a classic like Almond Poppy Seed. Almond is such a pleasurable intense aroma… I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s ‘huffed’ a bottle of almond extract now and again. It’s one of those flavors that is as much about the scent as it is about taste. And I don’t know who first put almonds and poppy seeds together, but it was pure genius.
The almond glaze adds an extra bit of sweetness to the muffins, and doubles down the almond flavor. There is also a full 1/4 cup of poppy seeds in the batter so you definitely won’t miss their crunch.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- heaping 1/4 cup poppy seeds
- 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt or sour cream (I used full fat Greek yogurt)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- milk to thin
Instructions
- Set the oven to 375F
- Whisk the dry ingredients, including poppy seeds, together thoroughly, you don't want lumps of baking soda in your muffins.
- Whisk the eggs and yogurt together and blend well. Stir in the melted butter and the almond extract.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined. Don't over mix or your muffins may be tough.
- Fill muffin cups with batter. This makes 12 large muffins, so high sided muffin liners, will help contain the batter. If you use regular muffin liners this recipe will make a few more muffins.
- Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes, until the tops are just starting to get a little golden around the edges and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out without wet batter clinging to it.
- Cool slightly on a rack before glazing.
- To make the glaze, mix the sugar, almond extract, and milk until you get a smooth, glossy glaze.
Have a great weekend!
Regency Tulip Baking Cups 
20 Comments
Cassie
April 8, 2019 at 11:15 amMy batter was extremely dry also. I added a cup of milk. Also, I baked at 375 for about 15-18min and they were completely done. If I would have baked 25+ they would have burned!
Home Baker
March 9, 2018 at 7:34 pmHi.. thank you for the amazing recipe. I dislike muffins and cupcakes but having come across your recipe decided to give it a shot. It turned out amazingly moist and incredibly flavorful inspite of the subtle taste. It def goes for keeps, this recipe.
I just have amazingly small prob with the Baking powder and Baking soda. I felt it was way too overpowering with each bite I took. Is the quantity of 1 tablespoon of Baking powder and 1 tsp of Baking soda too much or could it be because my baking powder is a bit old?
Thanks for your time.
Sue
March 9, 2018 at 7:36 pmYou can definitely try reducing the amount a bit for both the soda and powder if you’re sensitive to the flavor. Sometimes that can happen when the powers don’t get thoroughly mixed into the batter, too.
Home Baker
March 10, 2018 at 3:17 amThanks so much for your quick response. Really appreciate it.
Another query please.. would butter milk as a substitution work ? Or would it make a lot of difference ?
Thank you
Sue
March 10, 2018 at 7:42 amNot sure about full on buttermilk, but you might try using part buttermilk and part yogurt or sour cream?
JFish
October 9, 2017 at 5:19 pmI had to add about 3/4 cup of milk to make these even scoopable. I could barely stir it it was so thick. I was wondering if I had missed a wet ingredient, like milk so I double checked the recipe. Nope. I will probably take the flour down next time to ether only 2 cups, or use the 3 cups and add a cup of milk. They turned out good though
Sue
October 9, 2017 at 6:16 pmI’m actually going to retest the recipe tonight and will make any adjustments necessary, JFish, since I’ve had a few comments about the batter being too dry. Stay tuned!
Claire
August 30, 2017 at 10:25 amAfter reading the comments I decided to use a little less flour. I made the recipe exactly as written except I only used 2.5 cups of flour. I used plain lowfat Greek yogurt, and although the batter was pretty thick, they turned out great! Yum. I will make them again in the future. The almond flavor was a little too subtle for me (did not add glaze), so I’ll use more extract next time in the muffins also.
Sue
August 30, 2017 at 10:30 amThanks Claire, I appreciate you taking the time to leave this feedback, and glad you liked them :)
Rachel
October 10, 2016 at 3:22 pmI found a way to fix the “dry” problem. If you are using a Greek yogurt that’s thick like chobani, you have to add anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 cup of milk. The batter should be thick but not like dough. They turned out amazing!
Quinn
February 15, 2016 at 4:13 pmI’m having the same issue Tam is. Way way too much dry ingredients out of proportion to the wet. I also followed the recipe to a ‘T’.I ended up adding some milk just to try to salvage this. Is the 3 cups of flour a typo? Cause it sounded like too much when I was looking at this recipe.
Sue
February 15, 2016 at 4:43 pmI adapted this recipe from another blog and it worked great for me Quinn. The only thing I can think that could have made a difference for you is the way you measured your flour — I fluff and scoop it lightly so it isn’t compacted in the cup measure, and I used a non-Greek yogurt, which is on the thinner side.
Tam
October 14, 2015 at 4:08 pmI found the dry mix to be too large for the wet mix. Is there something I’m missing? I was really looking forwArd to these but when I had measured everything out properly the batter turned of very very dense and too much flour to incorporate
tracie c.
July 5, 2014 at 11:11 amjust made! these are delicious! such a nice change up from lemon poppyseed.
country living featured these in a muffin round up via FB post and i was all like…. MUFFINS!!!! your’s really caught my eye and i RAN to the kitchen to make these.
so light and tender AND easy! everyone must make these!
thank you for sharing your recipe!
Sue
July 5, 2014 at 12:53 pmThanks SO much Tracie, glad they were a hit!
Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious
October 15, 2013 at 11:20 amWhat a perfect way to start off the morning!
denise@magnoliaverandad
October 13, 2013 at 10:02 pmWouldn’t these go down a treat for brekky. Love those poppy seeds.
Sue
October 13, 2013 at 8:49 amMaybe it’s an old fashioned ‘flavor’, i don’t know, but I think it’s so much better than lemon poppy seed, which you see all the time.
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
October 12, 2013 at 8:05 pmBeautiful muffins, I love the poppy seed topping!