Recipe(tried): Lemon Pecan Muffins (with poppy seed variation, 1980's)

I adore muffin and quick bread cookbooks! One of my favorites is Granny's Muffin House by Susan Ashby. It's a very 'country' cookbook with each recipe prefaced by tidbits from Susan about her family's experiences and Granny's cooking, making it a fun read. According to the intro, Susan was in her 70's when the book was published (1983). Every recipe that I've tried has been delicious. Here's one of our favorite recipes from the book. The poppy seeds were my addition. - Enjoy! Betsy

LEMON MUFFINS

"I mind it was the winter of '22 when we had the gripple sneakin' around. My Grandpa, he was very bad with it. "Well, I've got it and I've got it good," he said to Granny. So she fixed him up her special lemon brew, and he was smart as a cricket. And with all those lemons left over, there were plenty for Granny to treat us to these heavenly muffins."

2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 cup chopped pecans
(my modification - I omit the pecans and add 2 teaspoons poppy seeds. I've also tripled the recipe with good results (using 2 tablespoons poppy seeds)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Sift the first 4 ingredients together. Stir in the egg, milk and butter, just till blended.

Fold in the lemon peel, lemon extract and pecans.

Fill paper-lined muffin tins full, and bake approximately 20 minutes.

Makes 12 muffins
Source: Granny's Muffin House by Susan Ashby, 1983