Strawberry Muffins

I recently bought some strawberries with no plans for them... and decided to make muffins!  Strawberries are a berry... and blueberry muffins are common and popular, right?

Strawberries are often cheaper than blueberries and the prices can often dip low, so this is a great recipe to keep handy.

I'll have to go check where my strawberries are from but CaliforniaStrawberries.com says shipments from the northern California areas begin in April, peak in May or June, and continue through November and that strawberries are also grown as an annual crop in California.

I do wonder why strawberry muffins aren't as common.  Maybe it's cause you have to put extra work into slicing the strawberries so blueberries are easier...?

I just googled recipes for strawberry aqua frescas and that's what you might be seeing next!  (It sounds super simple: strawberries, sugar, lime, water, ice and some mint sprigs!)  Last summer I made strawberry popsicles and they were a hit!  Guess I have lots of ideas for strawberries after all.  :)

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Strawberry Muffins - adapted from All Recipes

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 cup milk

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 cup brown sugar 

1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup chopped strawberries, plus a little more to press into the tops

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F, line muffin pan with paper liners.

In a small bowl, combine oil, milk, egg, and vanilla. Beat lightly. In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, brown sugar, and white sugar. Toss in chopped strawberries and stir to coat with flour. Pour in milk mixture and stir together.

Fill muffin cups a little over 3/4. Take the "plus a little more" strawberries and press at least 3 small pieces into the the tops so that the red parts show.  (I like having my muffins speak for themselves what kind of muffins they are!)

Bake at 375 degrees F for 25 minutes.  Cool 10 minutes and remove from pans to cool on a plate (or a cookie rack).

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What are your favorite kinds of muffins?  Have you had strawberry muffins before (since they don't seem as common?)

Blueberry Muffins

I made these a few weeks back and wanted to make more today BUT WE'RE LOW ON FLOUR.  How is that possible!

Anyway... these were definitely different from the Chocolate Chip Muffins!  Whilst the Chocolate Chip Muffins were more dry and scone-like, these Blueberry Muffins were super moist!  I thought these were more muffin-like, but Tim said he liked the Chocolate Chip Muffin-texture better.  I think this Blueberry Muffins recipe was less "healthy" because of the buttah and sour cream... but that was probably why it was so moist!  :)



Some organic blueberries!

 

All the dry ingredients together

The egg, sugar, butter, sour cream concoction!  It was super thick and smooth.



Pop 'em in the oven at 350 degrees.  I topped them off and they turned out fine.

All done!



Instagram-ed  :)

Blueberry Muffins
By Brown Eyed Baker

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
 1 tablespoon baking powder
 ½ teaspoon salt
 1 egg
 1 cup granulated sugar
 4 tablespoons (2 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
 1¼ cups sour cream
 1½ cups frozen or fresh blueberries

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F*. Line standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners and set aside.

2. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl until combined. Whisk the egg in a separate medium bowl until well-combined and light-colored, about 20 seconds. Add the sugar and whisk vigorously until thick, about 30 seconds. Add the melted butter in 2 or 3 additions, whisking to combine after each addition. Add the sour cream in 2 additions, whisking just to combine.

3. Add the berries to the dry ingredients and gently toss just to combine. Add the sour cream mixture and fold with a rubber spatula until the batter comes together and the berries are evenly distributed, 25 to 30 seconds. Small spots of flour may remain and the batter will be very thick. Do not overmix.

4. Using a large spoon or a cookie scoop sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, divide the batter amount the muffin cups. Bake until the muffins are light golden brown and a toothpick or thin knife inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating the pan from front to back halfway through the baking time. Immediately remove muffins to a wire rack and cool for at least 5 minutes. Serve immediately or at room temperature. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.



Can you SEE how moist they are? :D

They took a little more "work" than the other muffins I've made -- mainly because of the butter and sour cream part.  But they were super delicious!  You can taste the buttah.  haha.  I made these as a trial batch intended for my BFF new parents, but I haven't actually gotten around to making a second batch for them.  Maybe sometime this week!

What's your favorite blueberry muffin recipe?  Do you like 'em more dry and scone-like or more moist?
                                

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Here are the chocolate chip muffins I mentioned yesterday. For some reason, I stated on Facebook that they were the first muffins I've baked from scratch. Then I found out I had made Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins before!  :oP

 

Do you like the new oven mitt Tim got me for Christmas?  :)

 

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Adapted from allrecipies.com 

(I made some adjustments based on the comments/feedback people posted on the original recipe.)

 

Makes 12 muffins.

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup white sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1egg

1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For topping:

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Line muffin pan with baking cups.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, chocolate chips, and salt; mix well. In a small bowl, combine milk, oil and egg; blend well. Add dry ingredients all at once; stir just until dry ingredients are moistened (batter will be lumpy.) DON'T OVER STIR.
3. Fill cups 2/3 full. Sprinkle tops of muffins before baking with the brown sugar.
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 1 minute before removing from pan.

I haven't figured out why my batter was so FOAMY -- it was like the consistency of steamed egg! So my first batch last Saturday actually kinda turned out tasting like scones? Scone muffins Tim called them! And the second batch from Tuesday night were still foamy, though I tried to mix it less so maybe that helped. I also filled the cups 2/3 full the firs time like instructed, but they didn't rise very much so I put more in the second time and they came out better then. If I didn't fill them mostly (if not all) full, they did not have any sort of muffin top, and I was able to make ~15 muffins. I would say it's probably worth just using all the batter for 12 muffins and disregarding the 3/4 rule.

 

I want to try making blueberry muffins, and then hopefully will expand to other kinds as well.  :)  And hopefully figure out how to make them more moist and less crackly-like, though that's kind of tasty in its own way.  :)

 

What are your favorite kinds of muffins?  To eat?  To make?

                        

Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Muffins

I was all ready to post this but then I was too busy to pull pictures off my camera so this is a bit late! But here goes the first time I try making muffins.

Up in these New England parts, there is a state-wide/civic holiday called Patriots' Day (this year it fell on April 16), which commemorates the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord (the first battles of the American Revolutionary War. However, because *I think* my org gets Lunar New Year day off... we don't get Patriots' Day. :(

So I decided some chocolate chocolate-chip muffins were in order to start the week off while everyone else will be enjoying their day off (and/or running the Boston Marathon!)

In blog-speak: the cast of characters!

Mix the dry ingredients together, the wet together, then mix them both together!

Then pour into your lined muffin pan

(This one taken with Instagram)

Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Muffins (from the Food Network, Nigella Lawson)
(Never heard of her or seen her show!)

Ingredients

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons best quality cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup superfine sugar*
• 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

* I didn't know what superfine sugar was (it's exactly what it sounds like), so I put in regular granulated sugar. Though some further research/googling AFTER I stuck the muffins into the oven... you can make supefine sugar by putting regular graduated sugar in a food processor.


Directions

Line muffin pan with baking/paper cups.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa, sugar, and 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips into a large bowl. Pour all the liquid ingredients into a measuring cup. Mix the dry and wet ingredients together. (Nigella says a lumpy batter makes the best muffins.) Spoon into the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips on top and then bake for 15-20 minutes or until the muffins are dark, risen and springy. (Make sure to check them between 15 and 20 minutes.)
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I thought they turned out okay.  I don't know why but I always get slightly coned shaped muffins!  I think it's because I tend to fill them more than I should.  :oT  (There are only 12 muffin slots so it's not like I can squeeze an extra one like I can on a cookie sheet for cookies!)  It was also unfortunate the first chocolate in "Chocolate Chocolate-Chip Muffins" didn't really live up to its chocolatey-ness.  The cocoa powder made them brown but it didn't really taste like a chocolate muffin.  They were also kind of... not sweet enough but it's most likely totally because I didn't use "superfine sugar."  They weren't hard at all and I think I'll have to try making muffins again sometime!

What are your favorite kinds of muffins?