Strawberry Muffins

These may be better than the blueberry version I usually make.  Holy cow are these good!  These are today’s breakfast after a second trip to the strawberry patch.  I’ve now got 19 pints of strawberry jam and about 14 half-pints of strawberry-rhubarb.   I’ve put some berries in the freezer, but this year we’ve really been enjoying straight up in a zillion ways.  Last night it was strawberry milkshakes, this morning it was muffins.

I love the Classic Blueberry Muffin recipe from King Arthur Flour.  It makes the best muffins, hands down.  They’re cakey and sweet and loaded with blueberry flavor.  This morning I stared at the strawberries and thought about how I couldn’t see any reason why the blueberry recipe wouldn’t work with strawberries instead.  Indeed it did.

The one thing I would change for next time is quantity.  You will want 1/2 cup of crushed strawberries- measure after they’ve been crushed.  And then, since cut up strawberry pieces are bigger than blueberries, use only about 1 1/2 cups of chopped berries for the muffins.  I used a full two cups, and there are so many berries, the muffins are falling apart.  But they are delicious, and this is a great way to enjoy fresh from the field strawberries.

Classic Strawberry Muffins

8 Tbs butter
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
2 tsp baking powder
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups fresh strawberries, diced and divided
2 tsp sugar or cinnamon sugar for topping (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375º. In a medium sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and salt. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the baking powder, then add the flour alternating with the milk, beating well after each addition. Mash about 1/2 cup of the strawberries and then measure to see that you have 1/2 cup of mashed berries.  Mash a little more if you don’t have enough,  and then add them to the batter. Stir in the vanilla at the end, along with the rest of the diced strawberries

Mound the batter into 12 lightly greased or paper-lined muffin cups, filling each completely to the top (actually, over the top; the batter is thick enough that it’ll hold it’s shape). Sprinkle with sugar or cinnamon sugar, if desired.

Bake the muffins for 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of one comes out clean. Remove the muffins from the oven, and after 5 minutes remove them from the pan to cool completely on the rack, or gently flip them sideways in the pan. (Muffins left in the pan will steam, creating a tough crust.)