lemon blueberry poppy seed muffins

Over the course of this past semester I've all but abandoned my baking in favor of finishing my homework, grading, or (even better) some much needed sleep. But a Katy without a steady dose of baked goods is just not the same Katy. I was basically a shell of a woman. But not any more!!!

These muffins are the first thing I've baked in a long long while. But they were definitely worth the wait. These muffins are basically the love child between a blueberry muffin and a lemon poppyseed muffin. Thank goodness those two finally got together.

You should make these muffins for two very important reasons.

1. They are great muffins in their own right. Light, sweet, fruity. Plus there is streusel and anything with streusel is worth eating, right?

2. The recipe I am posting tomorrow calls for approximately four blueberry muffins. Yes, that's right. Blueberry muffins are an ingredient. What is this world even coming to?!?

lemon blueberry poppy seed muffins

ingredients:
7 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 cup whole milk
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp lemon zest
1 Tbsp poppy seeds
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

for the topping:
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp granulated sugar

directions:
Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a muffin pan with muffin liners and set aside.

To make the muffins: Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Keep an eye on the butter. It will melt, froth, and begin to crackle. The crackling will subside and butter will begin to brown fairly quickly. Remove from heat when butter solids become a medium brown color and butter smells slightly nutty. Immediately pour hot butter into a small bowl, or the butter will continue to cook in the hot pan. Allow to cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined. Add browned butter and whisk to combine.

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add milk mixture all at once to the flour mixture and stir gently to combine. Gently but thoroughly fold in the lemon zest, poppy seeds, and blueberries. Divide batter among prepared muffin cups.

To make the topping: Combine all ingredients in a bowl and rub together with clean fingertips until crumbly. Sprinkle topping evenly over the muffin batter in cups.

Bake muffins 18 to 20 minutes until golden and crisp and a skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool muffins in the pan for 15 minutes before removing. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Muffins will last, at room temperature in an airtight container, for up to 3 days.

Yield: 12 muffins

Source: Joy the Baker