Topped with an almond glaze hot out of the oven, these really are Better Than Costco Almond Poppy Seed Muffins! This will be a family favorite recipe!
Better Than Costco Almond Poppy Seed Muffins
I’m a sucker for Costco muffins! I know they’re basically cake and have a million calories but they’re just so good! Luckily I never actually buy them, but when they hand out samples at the store I am the crazy woman going back for seconds and thirds of each flavor. I can’t be stopped. So of course I had to try my hand at making a muffin to top Costco’s! And wow did I find it! These really are Better Than Costco Almond Poppy Seeds Muffins! I always prefer my muffins to be standard sized anyway because they’re just easier to eat! But these also have an almond glaze that go on them when they’re hot out of the oven. That extra layer of sweetness just can’t be matched.
Costco Copycat Muffin Recipe
I love muffins! Maybe it’s because I can trick my brain into thinking it’s not a dessert and semi-healthy for me even though it’s not. But either way, a warm muffin out of the oven is always a magical thing. The reason why I like these Better Than Costco Almond Poppy Seed Muffins more than the original Costco muffins is because they have more layers of flavor. The Costco muffins are the same all the way through. But these muffins have a crunch of coarse sugar on top, then a sweet almond glaze and then the muffin. It just takes the almond poppy seed muffin to a whole new level of deliciousness!
How to get Tall Muffin Tops!
There are two main tricks to getting those tall domed muffin tops! The first trick is to have enough baking powder in your recipe. Baking soda, though more powerful can leave a bad taste if you use too much, so most muffin recipes call for extra baking powder. The second trick is to start your oven at a higher temperature and then drop the temperature down when you put the batter in the oven. This sort of gives the batter a burst of heat which helps them to rise and not overflow your pan. But don’t get frustrated, every oven is different.
I mention in the recipe that you can make a lemon glaze for these muffins instead, and oh my! I glazed some of mine with the lemon glaze and they were amazing! Though, I’m really into lemon so that little bit of zing is my jam! 
Better Than Costco Almond Poppy Seed Muffins
Ingredients
Almond Poppy Seed Muffins
- 3 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 Tbsp. poppy seeds
- 1 Tbsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 tsp. almond extract
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled slightly
Almond Glaze
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 Tbsp. milk or water
- 1/2 tsp. almond extract
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line muffins tins with liners or grease the wells.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
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In a small bowl, whisk to combine sour cream, milk, vanilla, almond, eggs, and melted butter.
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Add wet ingredients to dry and stir just until combined. Batter will be thick. Fill muffin tins completely full with batter and place in over. TURN DOWN the temperature to 375 degrees and bake for 18-22 minutes or util an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
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While muffins are baking, make your glaze by whisking together ingredients. If you want a thicker glaze, add more powdered sugar. Brush onto muffins when they come out of the oven and sprinkle with coarse sugar if desired. Let cool (or don't let cool) and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
You can make a lemon glaze if you prefer, replace milk with fresh lemon juice. You can omit or still use the almond extract in it as well!
I made half a batch (I’m single and cant eat 12). I meticulously measured, I found the batter to be very dry, I couldn’t get all of the dry ingredients incorporated, so I added 1/4 c more milk. If I make them again I would add more poppy seeds too.
Saw the one comment and didn’t have the same problem. I did a full batch but I did’t fill to the brim. I did everything else noted re: temp and ingredients but I did about 3/4 full and got around 16 muffins. I liked the size better more than the concern about the tops. I had a bit of egg wash left from some pastry bites and painted that on the top before baking. Instead of doing the glaze noted I used some homemade caramel sauce and did a thin film more than a glaze and used that stickiness to sprinkle some crystal sugar for “bling”. They looked gorgeous and everyone eating them swore they lived up to their name and were definitely BETTER than Costco. HA A big hit! Thanks for the recipe!
Is one TABLESPOON of baking powder correct?
Yes, that’s right! Baking powder isn’t nearly as strong as baking soda. This will ensure nice rounded muffins1
Worst muffins I’ve ever made. Bland and dry as could be. Sorry but this should be modified and reposted.
Really and moist.. Use this recipe for a wedding I catered
This is hard for me to rate. I made the regular batch using the recipe as written. I filled 12 regular size muffin tins full with all the batter… They rose up and globbed together like one large pancake on the top. Some fell over the sides. On the bright side, the flavor was good. but what a mess… I’ll use a smaller size scoop next time and probably get more muffins out of this.
Perry was there an issue with the actual muffins themselves (flavor, texture), or just an issue of too much batter (not a problem for me lol)?
Delicious muffins! I made into mini muffins and baked 13 minutes instead. Got 6 regular muffins and 24 minis. My kids ate them up quickly. Skipped the glaze since making for my kids
Hey Amber, your review confuses me because your comment is very positive but you docked it a star in the rating. Is there something I should be aware of before attempting this recipe? 🙂
Dry and bland
Needed more liquid.
Will not make again.
I couldn’t get all of the dry ingredients incorporated.
Don’t listen to the bad reviews. I made this recipe exactly as advised and it turned out fantastic. I did double the glaze recipe because I’m a sugar addict. Haha. Perhaps you didn’t use melted butter so didn’t have enough liquid? Perhaps you filled your muffin tins too much? Look no further for a great muffin recipe.
I’m vegan so I made a few adjustments. I used 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1 cup oat flour, 1 cup of all purpose flour. I added 1/3 cup of lemon juice and a tsp. Of white vinegar to 3/4 cup of almond milk. I used a cup of vanilla vegan yogurt. A stick of vegan butter =1/2 cup. Vanilla bean paste, vanilla extract and almond oil extracts. The muffins came out soft moist and beautiful. Yield was 12 regular muffins and 2 jumbo sized muffins. Preheat to 400° as directed then lowered the heat to 375° baked for 22 mins.
Thank you for sharing I going to follow your tips!
Thanks for this! Did you do any kind of egg substitute or just leave them out?
These were awesome! My boyfriend thinks I’m amazing. I added a bit more milk to slightly loosen up the batter. Made one pan of mini muffins and one of regular size. The best!
This was so delicious!!! I ended up making it in a loaf pan and cooking it for twice as long because I didn’t have any muffin trays, but I think muffins would be even better! So I will definitely be making again to try them this way.
It is slightly on the less sweet side – but if you add the glaze to it, it’s perfect! I didn’t add extra almond extra for the glaze and instead added lemon zest. Soooo good. With the comments below, I think the type of almond extract you use does make the difference. The brand I used was, “The Spice Hunter – Pure Almond Extract,” Also, I’m thinking if you want it to be a bit sweeter instead of adding more sugar, use vanilla yogurt instead of using plain. I also used slightly more than 2 tablespoons of poppy seeds and it came out great!
I added about 1 Tbsp more poppyseeds, otherwise exact recipe. Got 12 muffins, and 18 mini muffins out of it– and they were scrumptious. My 8 year-old son actually said they WERE BETTER THAN THE COSTCO muffins.
doesn’t taste exactly like costco’s, but still so good!
This is definitely a different muffin recipe. Despite the reviews I wanted to try it because I love Costco muffins. I decided to make them exactly as the recipe states to see how they’d turn out for me. The batter was thick! Like chocolate chip cookie dough thick. I couldn’t do it and decided I needed to add additional milk until it was the consistency of traditional muffin batter. I also couldn’t bring myself to fill my muffin tins completely full so I opted for 3/4 full (thank goodness because they would have overflowed had I not). After those two modifications they turned out great. I would make a few changes based on my experience and based on other reviews. I would add more milk, and even a bit more sugar. They’re not a sweet muffin, even with the glaze. Would I make them again? I think I would. The recipe threw me off a bit but they turned out pretty good.
I did exactly the same modifications and it came out great! It was so thick before I added the milk that I couldn’t even turn my spoon. Tasty muffins with the modification but definitely too dry as written.
I made these for a breakfast meeting. I’m so disappointed, they are dry and not sweet enough, even with the glaze. I followed the recipe exactly, the batter is very thick. I divided into 12 muffin tins, they did rise with a nice crown and easily slipped from my muffin tin to the cooling rack. They look pretty, but have little to no taste.
I’m new to muffins, but have been a hobby baker to feed my partner’s sweet tooth for about three years now. I had to slightly alter the recipe, but boy did they come out moist, soft and beautifully plump.
I read the reviews and did a bit of tinkering, as follows.
— To add moisture and sweetness I used a little dash extra milk (maybe 4 tbsp), and a little bit of maple syrup <1/4 cup.
— Doubled the poppy seeds to 4 tbsp
— Only had light brown sugar, so I subbed that 1:1.
— Only had greek yogurt in the fridge, so I used 7oz of that, topped the rest of the measurement off with (almond) milk.
My method for pastry removal is ample buttering, no papers. This worked great and the muffins were easy to remove. I filled my muffin tins 3/4, and definitely recommend it. This filled 17(!) standard sized muffins. They rose beautifully, I believe due to the temp change. I rotated the pans halfway through at 9 minutes and they were finished at 18. Next time, I may add a dash more extract (almond, vanilla or lemon).
Thank you! This has been filed into my recipe book as my first muffin recipe!
I followed the recipe to the letter but the muffins were very dry and totally lacked flavor. Very disappointing.
Chef Deborah Whitman
I was going to make this but looked at the reviews and said there not good and dry. My family loves things pretty moist. I don’t want to try it. Looks petty bad.
I made them per the recipe and they were perfectly moist, not too sweet and delicious. I’ll be making them again.
Pretty tasty! Not super sweet, a little dense and moist enough. Followed the recipe exactly and didn’t make any adjustments for high elevation (NM). They came out with giant muffin tops but we don’t mind, they’re just for us! Perfectly paired with coffee in the morning. If I could post a picture I would.
Someone needs to proofread the content. You have misspelled words!!
These are the worst muffins I’ve baked. It is a bland and dry as it gets. Sorry, but this has to be changed and re-posted.
AMAZING!! I’m shocked this recipe has any negative reviews. I’ve made these several times and they are always a hit! Very moist and flavorful in my opinion. True to their name! I follow the recipe exactly. These have become a family favorite.
I made These poppyseed muffins and actually didn’t have the poppyseeds so I substituted Chia seeds and I also substituted gluten-free flour and cut the sugar to 1/2 cup instead of one cup I loved the result thank you for the recipe it is wonderful!
Needed COVID test for travel and left it late day before flight. WLP and Farouk were super helpful and turned around results in time to get to airport. Vitamin D Shot
¡Hice exactamente los mismos ajustes y salió genial! Se volvió tan espeso escorts Moreno antes de traer la leche que ni siquiera podía voltear la cuchara.
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I like cakes like this one because they aren’t overly sugary while still tasting like cakes.
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Excellent.
I got 20 lovely sized muffins from this recipe. Every oven bakes different…I baked the first pan for 18 minutes…too dry. The second pan for 15 minutes – perfectly moist! Very pleased with this recipe – thank you!
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These Better Than Costco Almond Poppy Seed Muffins sound absolutely delicious! It’s great that the recipe includes tips on how to get those tall, domed muffin tops, and it’s also nice to know that the recipe can be customized with a lemon glaze. I can understand why the author is obsessed with these muffins, and it’s funny to read about their love for Costco muffins despite the high calorie count. Overall, this post is a great combination of recipe instructions and personal anecdotes, making it both informative and entertaining to read.
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