I love lemon poppy seed muffins. If I get to choose a muffin, it will almost always be lemon poppy seed. Although, the chocolate chocolate chip muffins sometimes win out.

I bought a jar of poppy seeds awhile back with good intentions, and finally decided that it was time to make something with them! I found this recipe and happened to have all the ingredients, so that was all the further I needed to look.

Later, I noticed that it said “the grated lemon zest and freshly squeezed juice give these muffins a light fresh flavor – not too sweet.” Well, hmmm… Don’t get me wrong, the muffins were good, but they were not exactly what I had in mind. They might be exactly what YOU are after though! A friend I shared them with insisted that they were perfect as is, and no changers were needed. Feel free to try these, and let me know what you think.

Do you have a favorite lemon poppy seed muffin recipe?

Lemon Poppyseed Buttermilk Muffins
Source: My Gourmet Connection

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons poppyseeds

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Grease a standard-sized muffin-pan.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate bowl, combine the egg, melted butter, buttermilk, vegetable oil, lemon zest, lemon juice and lemon and vanilla extracts. Stir into the dry ingredients, add the poppy seeds and combine thoroughly.

Spoon the batter into the muffin pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer muffins from pan to a cooling rack immediately.

I made these cookies to RAVE reviews. In fact, I made these at the same time that I made the Cookies N Cream ones, and I think the others really suffered in comparison because these were SO good!

This is not actually the first time I’ve made these. I made them for a family gathering probably 3 years ago now, and they were very well received then as well. Unfortunately, the Coconut Creme kisses that are on top are a seasonal item and therefore only available during a short time of the year. If your local store hasn’t sold out of it’s 50% off Easter candy, I suggest running out and grabbing at least one bag of these. They are really good on top of a cookie, but the Kisses are really good on their own as well! Not that I ate all of the other ones I unwrapped after I ran out of cookie dough or anything… *cough*

These cookies were not difficult, but they are kind of involved. Even with the turn in the refrigerator, rolling the balls of cookie dough in coconut will be sticky and messy. It’s worth it though! The cookies turn out soft and flavorful. I even had a professed coconut hater LOVE them. Can’t beat that ringing endorsement!

Coconut Creme Macaroons
Source: Hershey’s, back of the Coconut Creme Kisses bag

1/3 cup butter, softened
1 package (3 oz.) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg yolk
2 teaspoons almond extract
2 teaspoons orange juice
1 1/4 up all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 cups sweetened coconut flakes, divided
Hershey Kisses filled with Coconut Creme

Beat butter, cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until well blended. Add egg yolk, almond extract, and orange juice; beat well. Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in 3 cups of coconut.

Cover; refrigerate 1 hour of until firm enough to handle. Remove wrappers from chocolates. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Shape dough into 1-inch balls; roll balls in remaining 2 cups coconut. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven; immediately press chocolate on top of each cookie. Cool 1 minutes, carefully remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. About 4 dozen cookies.

I have had these cookies bookmarked for AT LEAST a year. See, the Hershey Kisses that are on top of these cookies are the Limited Edition Cookies ‘N Cream Kisses. They are, in fact, seasonal kisses that are available in the spring, around Easter. Don’t be like me. Go out and buy (at least one) bag of these kisses so that you can make these cookies. In fact, go ahead and grab a bag of the Limited Edition Coconut Creme kisses while you are at it. They are delicious, and will be featured in a cookie that I plan on posting next!

These cookies were worth the wait, though. They were really easy to make. Everything came together really quickly, and I liked that they have a rest in the refrigerator– gives me a chance to clean up some of the mess I’ve made before it’s time to pull the cookies out of the oven. I have a small kitchen, so a baking mess plus cooling racks don’t always work out so well

Most of my taste-testers admitted to not being too crazy about cookies ‘n cream (what?! I know, right?), but thought the cookies were good anyway. I really enjoyed them. They had a good flavor and were the perfect texture! I may make a trip to the grocery store to buy another bag of the kisses so that I don’t have to wait until next year to make them again!

Cookies ‘n Cream Kiss Cookies
Source: Visions of Sugar Plum

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup coarsely chopped Oreo cookies
24 cookies ‘n cream kisses

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat cookie sheets with cooking spray.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, cornstarch, baking powder and salt. In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese until softened. Beat in butter until creamy. Beat in sugar until well combined. Beat in egg, vanilla and almond extract until combined. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually beat in flour mixture until just combined; stir in Oreos until combined.

Chill cookie dough in the freezer or refrigerator until cold. Place rounded tablespoons of dough onto cookie sheets. Bake 12 minutes or until puffed and light golden brown around edges.

Remove pans from oven; press a kiss in the center of each cookie. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool.

Makes 2 dozen cookies