Lemon Brunch // Blackberry Lemonade and Poppeyseed Muffins

This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and Dr. Pepper Snapple Group but all my opinions are my own. 
Nothing quite brightens a dreary and wet spring morning like ripe vibrant lemons. Today I’m sharing two favorites with these happy fruits (which I love with anything other than dessert – because dessert, by definition, must be chocolate).  
 
In high school I used to have a lemon poppyseed muffin for second breakfast almost every morning. My day started at 5:10 with a bowl of cereal but after an hour of youth bible study, by the time I got to school at about 7:15 I was hungry and needed something to last me till lunch. The cafeteria sold these gloriously large poppyseed muffins with just the right amount of lemon glaze. This recipe is better (although I guess being better than a high school cafeteria isn’t saying much… but they’re great, I promise). 
 
Don’t be intimidated by the different number of bowls you need for the recipe. Generally, I avoid recipes that call for more than one mixing bowl, but this one is totally worth the washing of two extra bowls. 
If you’re serving these muffins for a spring brunch or an afternoon with friends, whip up this absurdly easy sparkling blackberry lemonade (you know, to combat the three bowls you had to use for the muffins). Generally I prefer to eat my calories instead of drinking them so I was excited to try the Ten Calorie DPSG 7 UP for this post. Snapple came out with 10 calorie versions of four of their popular sodas: 7UP, Sunkist, A&W and Canada Dry. The sodas are filled with the same great taste of their original versions but with only ten calories.
 
I switched out regular 7 UP for the ten calorie version from Walmart in this lemonade recipe and you can make the same change in your usual soda intake for fewer calories this spring (my soda intake is almost entirely from fun drinks like this). I’m also thinking about using the ten calorie root beer to marinade something in, I’ll let you know how that goes 🙂
 
Scroll down for for both recipes:
 
Sparkling Blackberry Lemonade:
 
What You’ll Need:
 
  • 1 liter bottle of Ten Calorie DPSG 7 Up 
  • 1 bottle of blackberry juice  (I bought a 60 ounce bottle and used half)
  • 5 lemons 

 

 
What You’ll Do:
 
  • Mix 1/2 liter of 7 UP and about 30 fl ounces of blackberry juice. 
  • Squeeze juice of 2 lemons (add the juice of a third lemon to taste if desired). 
  • Slice remaining 2 lemons for garnish and serve immediately over ice. 
**You can use fresh blackberries if they’re in season instead of the juice. Simply puree one cup of blackberries until smooth and then press through a strainer to remove the seeds. But really, just use the juice because it’ll be much easier and probably cheaper. 

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins 
 
What You’ll Need:
  • 1/2 C butter, softened
  • 2/3 C suar
  • 2 eggs, separated
  • 1 1/2 C flour
  • 2 Tbsp poppy seeds
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 C buttermilk
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 lemons worth of lemon zest
  • powdered sugar (for the glaze)
**For buttermilk I always just use a little milk and vinegar. Before you start combining the other ingredients, whisk the milk and 1/2 tablespoon of vinegar in a bowl and let sit. 
 
**Lemon zest is finely grated lemon peels. For this recipe, I use the finest option on this grater (I love this set) to grate the vibrant yellow part off of a whole lemon. Once you get to the whiter part, you’re done. 
What You’ll Do:
  • Cream softened butter and sugar in a large bowl. 
  • Add in egg yolks an continue to mix well. 
  • In a separate bowl, combine the flour, salt, poppy seeds, and lemon zest.
  • Add vanilla and lemon juice to the buttermilk mixture.
  • Add dry ingredients slowly to the butter and sugar mixture, alternating with the buttermilk mixture (add half the dry ingredients, add half the buttermilk, add the other rest of the dry ingredients, then the rest of the buttermilk. Stir throughout). 
  • Combine until smooth (but do not over mix!)
  • In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form (I always use a kitchen aid for this and it takes a couple of minutes. Fold these gently into the muffin batter.
  • Bake in lined or greased muffin pan for about 20 minutes at 350 (or until a fork or toothpick comes out clean). I fill each muffin well up 2/3 – 3/4 the way full. 
  • While baking, mix powdered sugar, a tiny bit of water, and a few drops of lemon juice to make a glaze. 
  • Remove muffins from pan and drizzle with glaze while still warm. 
 

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
What is your favorite lemon recipe?
Have you tried any of the Four Ten Calories DSPG sodas?

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11 Comments

  1. Blackberry Lemonade sounds so yummy! I am gonna have to try that out 🙂 Where can you find the blackberry juice at?

    1. I just picked it up at Walmart but I've seen it at Meijer and Kroger as well!