Lemon Poppyseed Muffins with Greek Yogurt

This last week has been seriously rough. Do you ever just have those times where absolutely nothing is going your way? I was already sick and feeling terrible, so I was spending a lot of time in these new dog print pajama pants. I'm a total sucker for dogs and when I saw these on the Anthropologie website, I literally couldn't stop thinking about them. Let me just tell you- I own WAY too many animal print things, most of them dogs, and I don't even care. I am so happy I gave in and bought these to wear instead of my ratty sweatpants from my high school lacrosse team, which is my usual. Also, they're long enough!! Thank science that someone is out there designing adorable pajamas and looking out for almost-six-feet-tall women! 

Then, I found out that a work trip I was reallllllly looking forward to got cancelled. It was Vancouver, a city that's been at the top of my list for years. My company has been sent there every year for the past four years, and I finally got to go! It was less than 24 hours until departure, I was checked into my flight, and the event cancelled. I was so utterly and completely crushed. I had every minute of the four days planned, down to the meals and the coffee shops and the roads I would drive on... devastated was an understatement, and I was still sick too, which made the sniffles even worse. 

That got added onto with some disheartening news, which is more personal than I will share here. But, another blow to the chest. Then, my laptop started acting up. Again. This 6 month old MacBook with retina display that costs way more than I have ever spent on any one thing before. So, it went back to the Apple store (third time since I've had it!), leaving me computer-less, sick, sad, and grumpy. Lastly, my boyfriend ordered me this adorable shirt from J.Crew that I was absolutely swooning over. When the package came, they had sent the completely wrong shirt (a pink paisley tank top instead, labeled with my "crinkle boy shirt in red check" label!). I marched it straight to the nearest store, only to be told that the shirt I really wanted is completely sold out everywhere and I cannot get one anywhere in my size. Sigh. 

First world(ish) problems, I know. But it was just like one bummer after another, the unnamed one being the worst. But what do you do when you feel super down and depressed and beaten? I don't know about you, but I bake. I bake something that I absolutely love, which seems to work even if I don't eat any. Then I paint my nails and do something I enjoy. Since I was still sick, I decided to watch Dexter. I am terrible at watching TV shows and have barely seen anything. But I managed to make it to the last season of Dexter and I am determined to finish it! If anyone out there wants to chat about it, please reach out. I have heard the ending is a doozy and I am doing this all alone! However, I seem to only watch a couple episodes a week, max. Like I said before, I'm not that good at sitting still. Even these posts make me feel a little bit active. 

Moral of the story: to get out of my rut, I made lemon poppyseed muffins... & did pop art nails & watched a serial killer chop people up. What can I say, I'm multifaceted :)  

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins with Greek Yogurt

makes 12 muffins

Ingredients

2/3 cups granulated sugar

zest of 1 large lemon

juice of 1 large lemon

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (I used 2% Fage)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled

2 Tbs poppyseeds

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and prepare a muffin tin with liners (or spray/butter if you prefer.

2. In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until you can smell the fragrant lemon and the consistency is that of wet sand.

3. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. In another small bowl, combine the yogurt, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice, and melted butter and mix until uniform.

5. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry and stir to combine, until there are no dry spots, but not over-mixing. Fold in the poppy seeds.

6. Divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups and bake for about 20 minutes, until the tops are golden and puffed up.

7. Let cool before devouring. 

Recipe Adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod