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.

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 a brunch buffet, smoked salmon platter or breakfast charcuterie board!

Psst – if you love lemon as much as I do, try my lemon pancakes!

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Lemon-Poppyseed Cornbread Mini Muffins

Yield: About 20 mini muffins

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 8 minutes

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Ingredients

• Nonstick cooking spray
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1/2 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
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1-1/2 teaspoons poppyseeds
• Juice of 1 small lemon (about 1-1/2 tablespoons)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spray mini muffin pan with cooking spray.
2. 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).
3. 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.

Did you make this recipe?

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