grapefruit poppy seed muffins on cake stand

So. These were not the muffins I intended to post. The ones I intended? They were healthy. They were made with 100% whole wheat flour and Greek yogurt and less sugar and topped with a sprinkling of turbinado sugar.

And those muffins, when they came out of the oven, looked like craggy rocks and tasted like cardboard. Boo hiss.

Instead, I give you these glazed grapefruit poppy seed muffins! The final product. The BETTER product, trust. The product that still has some whole wheat flour in it and less sugar and reduced fat milk but also, all the yums (like that grapefruit glaze, yeahhhhh). Which is really what I was going for all along.

sliced grapefruit halves

The recipe for these muffins is a variation on the orange almond poppy seed bread from my eCookbook, Quick Bread Love, except with a few changes:

1) Muffins instead of a loaf, obviously.
2) Grapefruit zest and juice instead of orange zest and juice.
3) A fraction of the sugar.
4) Some of the all-purpose flour swapped for some whole wheat pastry flour.
5) DAT GLAZE.

mixing grapefruit poppy seed muffin batter in bowl

I just couldn’t get the idea of the grapefruit/poppy seed combo out of my head when I passed by a bin full of glorious grapefruit at Target (I mean really, where else would I be this time of year when it’s a -22 degree wind chill out besides in my house, employing the human burrito blanket situation + cozy slippers with a space heater in my face). And then, suddenly, I had a hankering for carbs (you’re shocked, I know). And carbs soon narrowed down to muffins. But I kinda wanted some healthy-ish muffins, because of that whole intentional eating thing I’m trying to do. And so I procured said grapefruit, jotted down some notes on healthy swaps for the muffins and got to work.

grapefruit poppy seed muffins on cooling rack

And that’s when those ish cardboard muffins happened. And that’s the last time I shall speak of them so we can talk about happier things, like round two of muffins that taste way more amazing. And are still kinda healthy, too, holla!

So here’s what you need to do: Go get some grapefruit (seriously, it’s so super delicious right now I can’t even deal). Stir the zest and juice into a muffin batter along with poppy seeds and all the other good stuff. Scoop them into muffin tins. Bake. Cool. MAKE DAT GLAZE. Dip cooled muffins into the grapefruit glaze, let the glaze set, lick the glaze bowl clean while you let the glaze set. Finally, eat a muffin. Or five. You can eat more because they’re healthy — that’s how it works, right?

grapefruit poppy seed muffins on cake stand

Tangy + tart + citrusy + sweet + fluffy + glaze-y. These are a few of my favorite things.

4 from 1 vote

Grapefruit Poppy Seed Muffins

These grapefruit poppy seed muffins are a twist on the lemon classic with a grapefruit glaze top!
Servings: 14 muffins
grapefruit poppy seed muffins.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
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Ingredients 

For the muffins:

For the glaze:

Instructions 

  • Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 regular-size muffin tins with baking spray or line 14 muffin cups with paper baking cups.
  • In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, rub sugar and grapefruit zest together with fingers until well-combined and fragrant. Add oil, poppy seeds, grapefruit juice, vanilla and egg. Beat on low speed until just combined.
  • In a separate large bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder and salt.
  • To grapefruit-poppy seed mixture, alternately stir in flour mixture and milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, until just combined. Pour batter into prepared muffin tins. Bake 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center of a muffin comes out clean. Transfer muffins to a cooling rack to cool completely.
  • In a small bowl, combine ingredients for glaze, adding more grapefruit juice or powdered sugar as needed to achieve desired consistency. Dip top of each muffin in glaze, then return to cooling rack (or a sheet of parchment paper) so glaze can drip and set.

Nutrition

Calories: 243kcal, Carbohydrates: 39g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 9g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 2g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 18mg, Sodium: 288mg, Potassium: 110mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 22g, Vitamin A: 90IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 119mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Stephanie Wise

Stephanie Wise is the founder and creator of Girl Versus Dough. She started sharing her bread baking adventures and recipes in 2009. Her love of bread only deepened as her skills and knowledge expanded. What began as a place to try others recipes quickly became a collection of her own creations!

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48 Comments

  1. Stephanie says:

    Nicholas — They’re normal sized! Fill the muffin tin cups about 2/3 full and you should be good. Enjoy the recipe!

  2. Nicholas says:

    Love love loove the recipe, i can’t wait to bake a batch of these lovely grapefruit babies. Quick question, are these mini muffins or normal sized ones? And exactly how much batter should i pour in one muffin tin? Thanks for the help and the amazing grapefruit+poppyseeds combo!

  3. Laura Dembowski says:

    Gorgeous muffins! I wish I had a couple for breakfast.

  4. Lindsay @ Life, Love and Sugar says:

    I’ve never had a grapefruit muffin before – how fun! They look delicious! Pinned!

  5. Megan - The Emotional Baker says:

    What a perfect muffin! Love this twist on a citrus classic 😉

  6. Medha @ Whisk & Shout says:

    Yum! I love lemon poppyseed baked goods, but I secretly prefer grapefruits to lemon… this is totally the recipe for me 🙂

  7. cynthia says:

    These look like HEAVEN. The perfect dreamy, speckled poppyseed texture and yes, that glaze!!!! I love it.

  8. Kelly - Life Made Sweeter says:

    Healthy-ish or not, I’m glad that you are sharing these muffins because they’re gorgeous! And oh my that glaze, I could just drink that up all by itself!

  9. Marie @ Little Kitchie says:

    Grapefruit desserts have become my obsession this winter – need to add these muffins to the mix! THAT GLAZE.