Lemon Poppyseed Yogurt muffins

My kids love to help me bake.  On a cold, cold day there is nothing better than cuddling up in the kitchen and making some muffins.  Mind you, "helping" in the kitchen usually means a BIG cleanup afterwards and eating half of the batter, but that's half the fun and I would rather they help me than be underfoot.  And I believe doing this with them creates a healthy understanding of food and gives us an opportunity to discuss where it comes from.  Love it.

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  We do not have any "white" products in our house. No white flour, no white sugar, no white pasta, no white rice or bread.  My kids don't know the difference and I like it this way.  So I substitute whole wheat flour (among others) in all my recipes and usually a cleaner sugar as well (As clean as possible...treats are treats).  This recipe is AWESOME.

 The kids love these muffins and no one knows they're a healthier version of the cakey, cupcake-like muffins that you usually find at a coffee shop.

This made 24 mini muffins and three regular muffins.  Could make 12 big regular muffins.

• 1-½ cup Flour, Whole Wheat
• 1/2 cup Organic cane sugar
• 2 Tablespoons poppy seeds
• 1-½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 pinch Salt
• 6 Tablespoons Coconut oil, Melted And Cooled
• ¾ cups Plain Greek Yogurt
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• Zest from 1 Lemon 
• Juice from 1 lemon (about 1/4 cup)
• 2 whole Eggs, beaten
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Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line muffin pans with 12 paper liners(you CAN grease them like I did, but I find they are a little sticky). In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Form a well in the center and set aside.

In medium bowl, stir together the coconut oil, yogurt, vanilla, zest, and lemon juice until thoroughly combined. If it's REALLY thick, you can add a little water (by the tablespoon) to lighten it up.  Pour the liquid ingredients into the well of dry ingredients and stir to blend until batter is moistened. Fold in the eggs as best you can without completely mashing the batter. I let my son stir and if I let him continue, these would probably be little rocks.   Divide the batter evenly among the muffins cups.

I baked the mini muffins for 10 minutes and the big ones for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for a couple of minutes then transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely. Like I said before, they were a little sticky and I had to nudge them out with a knife.  Worth it!  Once completely cooled, store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

After two days they're edible but....they might need some help.  From like, honey...or butter...and then the whole HEALTHY part is pretty much gone. I would make them when you know they're going to be eaten within a couple of days.

And TA-DA!  Fun in the kitchen on a cold cold winter day.  And now we can all eat muffins!
Enjoy!