Whole Wheat Vegan Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

I'm glad that everyone seems to love lemon as much as I do! My What I Ate Wednesday post highlighted only two of my favorite lemon recipes (lemon poppy seed pancakes and lemon bars!) but I have a new one to share!

I've been looking around for a good, healthy lemon poppy seed muffin recipe but have been having no luck. They're either butter and sugar laden or they may be quite healthy but look like hockey pucks. It wasn't until I was browsing through Katie's recipes on Chocolate Covered Katie that I saw a very convincing one.

Vegan, low fat, whole wheat, packed with lemon, AND they look absolutely amazing! One other plus is that I could bake them using my free mini muffin pan I got at the culinary expo since the recipe was for mini muffins. :D

These lemon poppy seed muffins did NOT disappoint. Need proof? I made a second batch the very next day!

My mini muffin pan must have been extra mini because I had enough batter to make 12 mini muffins (filled to the very top) and a normal sized muffin!

I'm definitely not complaining. :P

Seriously, one bite and I was in heaven!

These muffins have a wonderful cupcake-like texture. Its really hard to explain! It felt almost sinful to be eating these for breakfast :D

They have a good amount of sweetness. The amount of sugar could be dropped by a tablespoon or two if you are used to not so sweet baked goods, but I found them pretty much perfect for my sweetness palate (and I don't like things too sweet).

I loved them so much that (after eating 5 already) I made another batch; but this time in normal-sized muffin tins. They sure were cute as minis but I'd rather be able to chomp on a big ol' muffin in the morning.

I kept everything the same except for this batch I changed the amount of poppy seeds from two tablespoons to one tablespoon because there seemed to be a lot of poppy seeds when I first made them. This amount was much better, but it could probably be reduced even more. I'd say maybe 2 teaspoons instead of 2 tablespoons. Just my preference!

You get double lemon action with the addition of both lemon juice and lemon zest (and I scored a huge 2 pound bag of organic lemons for $3 the other day so expect a LOT more lemon recipes!). The maple syrup is subtle but I like that because I don't exactly want a strong maple flavor in my lemon poppy seed muffins :P

I couldn't wait to dig in.

Peeled...

Anddd CHOMP.

Ahhhhmazing folks, amazing. There's just something about that texture... I can't put my finger on it! It reminds me so much of muffins from a bakery but oh so much healthier. Put a lemon cream cheese frosting on there and it could be a cupcake!

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins (or Mini Muffins!)
Slightly adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie
Makes 6
1 T poppy seeds
1 tsp grated lemon zest
2 T lemon juice
1/4 c non-dairy milk
1 c whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 T maple syrup
1/4 c vegan butter, applesauce, oil, or a combo (I used 2 T Brummel & Brown** & 2 T apple sauce)
2 T sugar
1/2 tsp powdered ginger - optional (I didn't use this but feel free to if you'd like!)
 **not vegan

Preheat oven to 355 degrees. Mix dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix liquid ingredients (and poppy seeds), then combine and stir until just mixed. Don’t overmix.

Divide evenly between 6 muffins cups or 12 mini muffins cups that have either been sprayed with oil or have paper liners.

Bake for about 17 minutes (for normal muffins) or 10-12 minutes (for mini muffins), or until a toothpick comes out clean.
***
I have to say Katie, you are a genius! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!

I decided to calculate the nutritional information according to the ingredients I used and came up with this:
Each muffin (when you make 6) is 142 calories, 2.8 grams of fat, 11 grams of sugar, 3 grams of fiber, and 2.3 grams of protein. Not too shabby!!

The same day I made these cupcakes..err I mean muffins, I also made another batch of my favorite lemon curd from Baking Bites. If you're a lemon lover, this is a must-have (at all times) in the fridge. No fat (besides the egg yolk) and super zesty! I use 3 tablespoons of sugar instead of 5 and its perfect. Slightly sweet but also sour! I use it in my Greek yogurt to make my own lemon flavored Greek yogurt that's way cheaper than buying those little lemon Chobani's (and you can control the sweetness).

I was considering spreading a little bit of lemon curd onto my lemon muffins but didn't. Lemon overload? Maybe...

What's your favorite lemon recipe?? I would love to add a couple more lemon recipes to my collection!