Trying out Krusteaz’s Almond Poppy Seed muffin mix

While I do favor chocolate based desserts, I know that is not everyone’s cup of tea and only covers a small range of desserts. During my most recent box mix hunt I made sure to grab things that are outside of my normal range. Almond Poppy Seed muffins aren’t new or strange, they’re a pretty normal dessert and a really enjoyable one. Krusteaz has been known for providing us with some good box mixes so I’m excited to dip into their muffin mixes.

Starting off with packaging, the front of the box lists “made with real almonds” and inside the box there is a separate package for the poppy seeds. Both of these imply to me that additional effort was made for the quality of these muffins to be superior. Just like many other muffin mixes, this one requires oil, water, and an egg. You mix the powdered mix with these ingredients and then add in the package of poppy seeds last. The batter is a great consistency and tastes exactly like sweetened almond extract although I couldn’t find almond extract listed as an ingredient. I’m not sure if almond extract falls under “natural flavors” because the alcoholic after taste is unmistakable, there is no way real almond flavor tastes like that.

Using a 3 tablespoon sized scoop, the cupcakes liners were filled up perfectly. The box claims to make 12 muffins but I could easily scoop 14 out of the batter so I was worried I had underfilled them but I kept them where they were because I didn’t want to risk overfilling.

The muffin pan went into the oven. While the package called for 17-19 minutes, at 15 minutes I found the muffins were fully baked. This was disappointing. Typically Krusteaz has an accurate bake time so I am unsure if the possible underfill of each muffin cup had anything to do with this. Either way this is a good reminder to never trust a box mix bake time, even with a good brand.

The muffins came out smelling amazing with a strong almond aroma. They had risen up with beautifully domed tops. They definitely weren’t underfilled or overfilled and looked just right. After removing the muffins from the pan I found that the edges and bottom were browner than I would prefer so this bake time may have been a bit too long actually which is even more disappointing.

The packaging recommends a sweet vanilla glaze for on top of the muffins and provides the recipe so of course I had to make it. It consists of powdered sugar, water, and vanilla mixed together. It was pretty thick originally so I added a little more water and was happier with the consistency. It didn’t taste like much. Just sugar and a hint of vanilla which isn’t very exciting. Once the muffins cooled, I used a spoon to place the glaze on top. I only used half a spoonful on each muffin and it provided a good amount of coverage. Unfortunately this only used up half of the glaze mixture so it felt wasteful. I’d definitely recommend cutting the recipe in half if you go that route.

I tasted the muffin plain and with the glaze side by side and surprisingly, I didn’t like the glaze. It took away from the muffin too much. The muffin was perfectly soft with a lightly crisped edge and had the perfect flavor, not too subtle or too aggressive. The almond flavor was delightful and it had the right amount of poppy seeds. I felt the glaze had no flavor and really distracted from the almond flavor instead of enhancing it. Perhaps this glaze would be better off with almond extract instead of vanilla. Either way, I wouldn’t make the glaze again. The muffins were perfect as-is.
Overall, these are fantastic and Krusteaz has given us a great muffin mix. I definitely recommend picking this mix up when you’re in the mood for muffins. It’s an easy mix that provides a great product that saves you the hassle of a homemade recipe.

This mix totals 2410 calories before the icing. If you made 12 muffins, they are 200 calories each. If you made 14 muffins, they are 172 calories each.