Surprising fact about me:
I love chocolate.
Oh wait, that’s not surprising at all, is it? Here’s something that is surprising: Every once in a while, I crave something other than chocolate. Yesterday afternoon, for example, I was craving… lemon poppy seed?
Okay, who are you, and what have you done with Katie?
The problem is, there are no poppy seed recipes in my archives.
This was a job for my good friends over at the Candle Cafe. I’ve owned their cookbook for years, and you know how many recipes I’ve made from it? Zero.
I used to be so bad about buying cookbooks. I’d flip through the recipes, bookmark pages, and then never make any. Therefore, I’ve forced myself to completely stop buying cookbooks in the first place. Before I purchase new ones, I ought to show some love to those I already own!
So yesterday, I dug out the Candle Cafe Cookbook and assembled ingredients for their lemon poppy seed muffins. However, if you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that I am incapable of following a recipe. True to form, I abandoned CC’s recipe halfway through and did my own thing.
Where’s the 12th mini muffin? In mah belly!
Lil Lemon Poppies
(Adapted from the Candle Cafe Cookbook)
- very scant 1 tbsp poppy seeds
- 1 tsp grated lemon zest
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1/4 c milk of choice
- 1 c spelt flour (or white, ww pastry, or even try gluten-free mix!)
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/4 c butter-type spread (full-fat), applesauce, oil, or a combo (if using oil or applesauce, add 1/16 tsp salt)
- 2 tbsp sugar (I used less than 2tbsp because I used stevia)
- 1/2 tsp powdered ginger (You can omit this.)
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. Pour into mini liners or spray a mini muffin tin with oil, and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Makes 12 cute lil mini muffins.
If desired, you can top them with my Easiest-Ever Icing.
But they really don’t even need a glaze; these babies are perfect on their own.
The bake sale is over!
For the incredible results: Bake-Sale Results.
I know a lot of you want to know more details about the sale, and those of you who bid are chomping (literally!) at the bit to know exactly when you’ll get your delicious yummies. Please be patient with me; I have a terrifying amount of emails in my inbox at the moment, and there’s no way I can get to them all today. Please remember that I have other obligations; running the bake sale is not my job.
I’ll publish a big “bake sale wrap up” post tomorrow, listing the amount we raised and giving instructions on what to do next. (I’ll also be sending emails to the winners in the next few days; as I said, please be patient!)
Question of the Day:
Do you bookmark recipes from cookbooks or blogs, then never make any?
Or are you the kind of person who sees a recipe (either in a cookbook or a blog) and immediately goes out and makes it that night? And can you follow a recipe to a tee, or do you improvise as you go along?
Usually the ones I bookmark are the recipes I really want to try, so I often do try them. I almost always end up adapting recipes for my likes and family’s needs, though. I use my cookbooks I ton because I just love trying new recipes.
We were on a play date the other day and my daughter went crazy for some lemon poppy seed mini muffins, so I’ve had them on my list to make! Yours look perfect. 🙂
I’m probably just as bad as you! I own so many cookbooks and I’ve bookmarked *so* many bloggers recipes…and I rarely make them! And when I do, I usually change it. :S (Come to think about it, cookbooks are almost *unnecessary* because so many wonderful, giving bloggers post so many recipes *for free*). In either case, I need to get my booty to the kitchen with some recipes and actually *follow through* with them!
I *love* lemon poppyseed. 🙂 So delicious. Will definitely be trying this recipe. (Mark my words!)
I’m prone to immediate follow-through on a recipe. Perfect example is tonight: I’m learning to cook Indian cuisine and I found a recipe for spicy almonds (post tomorrow) and I had to make them and did. =)
However, I often find myself modifying along the way, either for the gluten or the onion allergy, or because past experience and taste guides me to make little tweaks along the way. I rarely follow a recipe exactly as written, unless it’s my own.
I made these yesterday – they didn’t come out glossy like the tops of yours, but they were tasty! I want to find a mini muffin pan like the one you used, where they are more “square” straight up and down instead of cone shaped like most muffins… I love that shape! (I know, details, right?) 😀
Hahaha details are importante!!
P.S. I am loving all your photos on findingvegan.com!
i’ve been craving something just like this! i must make it soon 😀
Katie these muffins were amazing! They taste just like cupcakes and are so fresh and lemony! I made mini muffins one day and then the very next day I made another batch of normal sized muffins because I loved them so much (:
I have to admit, though, I liked the normal sized muffins better 😛 Easier to eat!
I’m wondering if the amount of poppy seeds is a typo, though. From your pictures, there looks to be a lot less poppy seeds in your muffins than when I made them and there seemed to be way too much. When I made them the second time I cut the amount to 1 tablespoon and seemed like a much better amount. Did you perhaps mean 2 teaspoons instead of 2 tablespoons? Either way these guys are THE BEST! Here’s my blog post dedicated to them (:
http://notthenormalteenagefare.blogspot.com/2011/06/whole-wheat-vegan-lemon-poppy-seed.html
Thanks!
Awww your muffins are so super-cute! And now I think you’ve inspired me to make normal-sized ones too!
But oh my gosh, I think you’re right… I think it is a typo! Off to change it right now! Thanks girl! 🙂
I just made these this morning for our camping trip tonight!!!
I doubled the batch and made it with whole wheat flour instead of the spelt (all out and no time to get out and buy some).
They turned out amazing!!! These have been definitely added to my freezer muffins list!!!
Thank you for the site Katie, I cannot wait to make all of the delish recipes you have created.
I am SO excited you made them, Jenn! 🙂 🙂
Those muffins are sooo cute! -pins on Pinterest-
Aww I love when my recipes are on pintrest. I need to figure out how to make one. Maybe this weekend! 🙂
It’s super easy ^^ just sign up (they say they’ll send you an invitation & consideration, I think, but I got my invitation in ~10 minutes)
You should make a pinterest account! I’d love to see what boards you’ll put up in it.
Haha I’m afraid I’d spend too much time on it! We need 5000 hours in the day!
Hey Katie,
If I were to use applesauce as the oil replacement in the recipe, how long would the muffins keep for? And what is the best way of preserving them? I was thinking of putting them all in a sealed plastic bag, inside a sealed plastic container?
I’m asking because I intend on sending them as a surprise to a friend who lives 3 hours away! I would definitely ship them on Monday to make sure they get there ASAP, but I would love if I could keep them soft for longer.
Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend using applesauce to replace the oil at all.
I’ve said it once, I’ll say it a thousand times…your blog is a GODSEND!!! You have no idea!
Thanks for doing what you do. Blessing many lives..esp. those with food allergies!!!