Spring Conference Muffins

It's that time of year again. Spiritual enlightenment on TV...Omelette brunch... Muffins.

We found a sweet little muffin recipe this year. The lemon flavor was a bit subtle for my taste. I'd probably double the zest next time. Still, a great little bite-size muffin.

Pint-Size Lemon-Poppy Seed Muffins
from Bon Appetit Magazine
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon (packed) finely grated lemon peel
2 large eggs
1/4 cup poppy seeds
(we also sprinkled the batter with a little sanding sugar before baking, to give them a little sweet crunch on top)


PREPARATION
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Butter and flour three mini muffin pans or line with paper liners. Whisk flour, baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, and baking soda in medium bowl. Whisk buttermilk and lemon juice in small bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, and lemon peel in large bowl to blend. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition until mixture is light and fluffy, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Beat in dry ingredients in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk mixture in 2 additions. Mix just until blended. Mix in poppy seeds. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups by generous tablespoonfuls.
Bake muffins until tester inserted into center comes out clean, 22 to 24 minutes (mine only cooked about 16 minutes, so check early). Cool in pans 5 minutes. Remove muffins from pans and cool on rack.