Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins with Raspberry Butter

Happy Easter! I just got back from Sea Island, Georgia with my family. It was absolutely incredible. The weather was perfect, the food was delicious, and the view was amazing. We went deep sea fishing, golfing, laid out on the beach and we're busy all weekend.

Here is a picture of me teeing off, pretty much, into the ocean.

But back to the cooking. I bought poppy seeds for the salmon burgers and had a ton left over, so I got the idea to make lemon poppy seed muffins.

 Lemon poppy seed muffins

 Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar, plus 1 teaspoon for sprinkling
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 Tbl poppy seeds
• 1 tsp lemon zest

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a standard 12-well muffin pan or a jumbo 6-well muffin pan.

Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, and lemon juice.

Make a well in center of the flour mixture and pour the buttermilk mixture into the well. Add the melted butter and use a rubber spatula to blend with quick strokes, being careful not overmix the batter; it should still be slightly lumpy. Gently stir in the poppy seeds and lemon zest. 

 Spoon batter into the prepared muffin pan, filling each well 3/4 full. Bake until slightly puffed and golden, 20 to 22 minutes. 

Lightly sprinkle sugar over the tops of the muffins, if desired. Remove the muffins from the pan and cool slightly on a wire rack. 

Serve the muffins warm, with Raspberry Butter.

Raspberry Butter:

 Ingredients:

1 (6-ounce) container fresh raspberries, picked through
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons honey
Pinch salt

Directions:

Place raspberries in a food processor and pulse until completely pureed. Place raspberry puree in a fine-meshed sieve set over a medium bowl, pressing to extract all the juice from the puree. Discard the seeds and pulp.

 Pour the strained puree into a medium saucepan and add the lemon juice and sugar. Bring mixture to a boil, and cook for 2 minutes, or until the mixture slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and cool puree completely.

Cream together the butter, honey, salt, and cooled puree until smooth and well blended. (This may take up to 5 minutes on high speed.) Place butter in molds or onto sheets of plastic wrap and roll into logs. Refrigerate until well chilled and firm.