Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and grease a nonstick muffin pan with cooking spray or line a muffin pan with liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, vanilla extract, almond extract, eggs and melted butter until combined.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix together with a wooden spoon until combined. Be sure not to over-mix and batter will be thick. Let the batter sit for 5 minutes.
Fill the muffin tins completely full with batter and place in the oven to bake. REDUCE the heat to 375 degrees F and bake for 16-18 minutes. The edges will be slightly golden brown and a toothpick should come out clean. Cool for a few minutes and enjoy!
Optional: top the muffins with sliced, chopped almonds or coarse sugar before putting them into the oven to bake.