Almond Poppy Seed Muffins

I'm definitely in fall cleaning mode, even in the pantry.  So, in an attempt to use up the poppy seeds my Czech au pair Bara bought last year {for one of her many delicious Czech cooking projects}, the kids and I made almond poppy seed muffins.

I'm not an expert baker, but these were pretty tasty.

I had to make two versions, some with almonds on top, as shown above, and some with sugar on top, because my kids turn their noses up at the only nutritious part of the these muffins, the raw almonds on the top.

Almond Poppy Seed Muffins

2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk or sour milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
2 teaspoons almond extract
sugar or raw almonds to sprinkle on top (optional)

Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Mix all ingredients until just blended.  Line a muffin tin with paper liners or butter and flour each muffin cup.  Spoon batter into muffin cups.  Sprinkle the muffin tops with sugar or raw almonds.  Bake for 20-24 minutes.  Makes 12 jumbo muffins, 18 medium muffins, or 3 pans of mini muffins.