Lemon-Poppyseed Chamomile Tea Muffins

Like Valerie mentioned in an earlier post, we have an epic amount of tea that we are trying to go through before we graduate and leave in May:

Really, we weren't kidding. This is what results when two roommates work at Starbucks for 3+ years and often take advantage of their 1 free box of tea per week but rarely actually make tea.

Anyhow, I've been loooking for ways to use up our tea that don't necessarily mean just drinking it. I was quite excited when my friend posted this recipe on pinterest and I thought I'd give it a whirl, making muffins instead of bread. Unfortunately, when I first made this them, they turned out more like lemon-poppyseed chamomile hockey pucks. No matter how delicious of hockey pucks they were, it was definitely not what I was going for. So, I combined/veganized a few different lemon muffin recipe I found online, added poppyseed and chamomile tea, and ended up with this wonderfully delicious result.

Lemon-Poppyseed Chamomile Tea Muffins:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Zest from 1 lemon

3 Tbsp lemon juice

1 cup milk

1/2 cup chamomile tea, steeped dark and cooled (3 bags)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup applesauce

2 Tbsp poppy seed

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Lemon Glaze:

2 Tbsp agave nectar

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp chamomile tea

1 tsp powdered sugar

Zest from half a lemon

Directions:

Steep your chamomile tea in a little over 1/2 cup of water (so you have enough for both the muffins and the glaze). I let the tea steep for 5 minutes, then I removed the tea bags and stuck the tea in the freezer so it would be cool enough once I needed to use it.

Now, zest/juice your lemons. For the muffins and the glaze, you'll need in total zest from 1 1/2 lemons as well as 3 Tbsp lemon juice.

Next, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.

Mix the rest of the ingredients in a separate bowl.

Add the liquids ingredients to the dry ones and mix with a wooden spoon.

Pour batter into muffin tins, filling each one a little 3/4 of the way.

Bake at 375 for 20 minutes (or until you insert a knife and it comes out clean).

While your muffins are baking, prepare your glaze by mixing all the ingredients together.

Take your muffins out of the oven and pour some glaze over each on. I cut a slit in each of my muffins with a knife so the glaze would sink into the center. Let cool before removing from muffin tins.

Enjoy!