Almond Poppy Seed Muffins

 I woke up the other morning determined to bake a batch of muffins. I headed straight into my kitchen, opened the cupboards and realized what little I had to work with. Apparently over the past few weeks I've really neglected my baking supplies and not only failed to replenish the really important items like flour, but I never stocked up on dairy products like butter or whole milk. So I worked with what I had. Isn't that what we should be doing anyway? I really didn't want to run to the store just for flour and milk, so I made adjustments here and there and came up with a recipe that produced really yummy muffins! They turned out nice and crunchy on top (I attribute that to the cake flour, if you don't have any just use 1½ c. of all-purpose) and super moist and flavorful inside. These muffins were a big hit with me, and would certainly please any of my poppy seed muffin loving family members! What kind of poppy seed muffins do you or your family love? Almond, lemon, banana? I've even seen a blueberry combo! Yum!

Almond Poppy Seed Muffins
Ingredients
1 c. flour
½ c. cake flour
1 c. sugar
9 tbsp. (1 stick + 1 tbsp) butter, room temperature
2 eggs
¾ c. sour cream
¾ tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. almond extract
2 tbsp. poppy seeds

2 tbsp. slivered almonds, for top

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat the oven to 375˚ F. Line a muffin pan with 12 liners.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Add the vanilla extract, almond extract and poppy seeds.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, combine flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk to combine. Set aside.
4. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in the dry ingredients, alternating with the sour cream. Mix until incorporated.
5. Fill each muffin tin ⅔ of the way full. Sprinkle with slivered almonds. Place in oven and bake for 22-24 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.

Stephen + Natalie | Makes approximately 12 standard size muffins