A quick thank you gift with a yummy recipe

Today I cleaned like a mad woman and still didn't get everything done.  I did, however, get to keep ALL the windows open all day long and even got to wear a sweatshirt.  I will let you in on a little secret. . . shhh. . . don't tell anybody. . . I pretended I was at the beach.  It even rained a little bit this afternoon.  Ethan even tried catching some.   Today, was the first day all week that we were home.  I didn't leave the house once. . . I'm kind of a homebody like that.  It was great!  

So. . . I've had these muffins here ready to post since about March.  Sorry for the delay. . . I kind of slacked off for awhile.  These muffins were special (and really delicious!).  I made them for my best friend.  You know the friend that goes above and beyond the call of duty and is there for you no matter what.  Back in March, she went to a Pampered Chef Party that I was the consultant at (she's kind of related to the host).  Usually at the end of a party, I just throw all my dirty dishes in plastic Target bags and hit the road, but on this particular night, while I was taking orders, she was busy washing dishes.  My dishes.  I didn't have to spend my afternoon the next day washing dishes.  So I made more dishes by making these:

 I made them in my mini muffin pan and tucked a bunch securely into an empty egg carton. . . don't they look great! and then decorated it with some fun scrapbook paper and wrapped it with bakers twine.  The cool thing is she wasn't home and so we just left them on her door step. . . I am hoping it was a nice surprise when she got there.  I sent the rest to work with my husband. . . mini muffins are the best and they are just so easy!

Do you have a best friend that needs a batch of these whipped up and dropped on her door step?  I hope so.  I am so thankful for my best friend and all that she does! 

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins with a Lemon Glaze
adapted from here via Pinterest

Ingredients:
2/3 cup sugar
Lemon zest from 2 lemons
juice of 1 lemon
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup sour cream
2 lg. eggs
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tbs poppy seeds

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line your mini muffin pan with liners.  In a large bowl, rub the sugar and lemon zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of lemon is strong.  Whisk in flour, baking powder, soda, and salt.
In a smaller bowl, whisk the sour cream, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice, and melted butter together until well blended.  Pour over dry ingredients and gently stir to blend.  Stir in poppy seeds. Divide the batter evenly among muffin cups.  Bake for 10 to 15 minutes until tops are golden.  Cool 5 minutes before removing muffins from pan.

Icing
1 cup powdered sugar, 2-3 tbs fresh lemon juice
Combine and drizzle over muffin tops.