Strawberry Muffins

in Breakfast, Cherries & Berries, Fruit, Lighter & Healthier, Muffins and Scones, Strawberries

Fresh Strawberry Muffins

The first signs of spring hit southeast Texas nearly two months ago. We swam (with a leeeettle help from the pool heater), we started putting in this year’s spring garden plants, and we hit up a nearby farm to pick strawberries.

14 pounds of strawberries.

And I was leaving for a California trip in less than 2 days.

My husband took one look in the fridge, one look at me, and then walked away with the “at least it’s [strawberries] and not cats” face. His Daddy To-Do List while I was gone was two items long: 1) Make sure she really brushes her teeth, not just licks off the toothpaste and 2) Eat as many strawberries as humanly possible. And then eat a few more.

Fresh Strawberry Muffins

The first thing we did was make fresh strawberry muffins. Last year, we made countless batches of Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins with our strawberry haul… but they’re a little less figure friendly than I’d like. We took our favorite muffin recipe, lightened it a bit, and added plenty of those “must eat tomorrow” strawberries. The resulting muffin is moist and tender, and studded with juicy chunks of ripe strawberries.

When strawberry season rolls around to your side of town, grab a bucket. Or to unlock the Hoarder Badge, 4 buckets. And your muffin pan.

Strawberry Muffins

A lighter muffin studded with fresh strawberry chunks.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups + 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1 Tbsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 10 Tbsp unsalted butter, cubed and softened
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 1/4 tsp almond extract
  • 1 1/2 cup plain fat-free Greek yogurt
  • Generous 1 1/2 cup chopped strawberries (~8 oz by weight, after hulling)
  • Coarse sugar, for sprinkling tops (optional)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400
  2. Mix 3 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt in medium bowl; set aside.
  3. Cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
  4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition followed by the vanilla and almond extract.
  5. Beat in half of dry ingredients, followed by a third of the yogurt.
  6. Add remaining dry ingredients in two batches, alternating with the yogurt, until incorporated.
  7. Toss strawberries with the remaining 1 Tbsp flour and add to the mixer, mixing for just a few more seconds to distribute evenly (the batter will be very, very thick).
  8. Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray or line with paper liners.
  9. Divide the batter evenly among cups, using a large cookie scoop (my scoop is ~2.25 inches across).
  10. Sprinkle tops lightly with coarse sugar, if using.
  11. Bake for 8 minutes and then decrease oven temperature to 375 and bake for ~12 more minutes until golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
  12. Let cool 5 minutes in the pan before removing and cooling completely.
  13. Will keep ~3 days in a covered cake plate.

Notes

Yields: ~18 muffins

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated Blueberry Muffins

Estimated time: 1 hour

Nutritional Information
Calories: 188.8 | Fat: 7.2g | Fiber .9g | Protein 4.9g | Carbs 26.1g
Weight Watchers PointsPlus: 5

29 comments… add one
  • Oh wow….this looks soooo yummy!! Thanks a lot for the recipe! I will definitely try this as soon as I find Strawberries that sunripe and red ;)) x

  • I love a good, strawberry, muffin! Yum!

  • Could those strawberries be any more gorgeous? My grocery store berries are looking especially pitiful next to them. I need to make these for my mom, she’s all about strawberry baked goods!

  • Bookmarking this one! I loooove strawberries. Can’t wait to find some – either by picking or buying a few little cartons at the farmers market – and make these puppies. Perfect when I have to take breakfast to church!

  • Connie

    Gorgeous looking muffins and berries. I love strawberries, 14 pounds is a lot…do I sense jam-making in the near future?

  • I’ve been in love with your strawberry posts, and have been buying fresh SoCal strawberries for the past couple weeks. There is nothing like eating fresh strawberries from the strawberry farmers, but these sweet muffins look absolutely addicting. I’m going to buy an extra batch and make these stat!!!!! YEAH!

  • I love the first photo; the red strawberries really pop against the white plate and tablecloth. And how did you get your berries to look so perfect and… shiny? Maybe mine would look like that if we didn’t eat them all immediately after rinsing.

    • I didn’t do anything other than rise and dry when I got them home from the farm. They really were just *that* perfect when we picked them!

  • Gorgeous! Bookmarking this one for the next few weeks when it’ll be my turn to go picking.

  • Oh, these look delicious! We’re just a little bit ahead of you in seasons, so we had our strawberry bounty a couple of months ago – but oh so delicious! I’ll save this recipe for next year – we had so many we ended up making strawberry jam – and lots of it!!

  • Gorgeous, gorgeous muffins!

  • What a fantastic way to use your fresh strawberries! Looks like you had a great time at the strawberry farm, too. Shame it’s 200 miles from me, but maybe I can find one within a good distance from Austin. Thanks for sharing, Shawnda!

  • These look absolutely delicious! Here in Boston we aren’t even close to strawberry season!

  • Look how pretty those strawberries are! I wish I had some so I could make these muffins – guess a grocery run is on tomorrow’s schedule!

  • Great color in the photos. There’s nothing like strawberries to brighten the day. We are sliding into winter here in New Zealand so strawberry time is over unfortunately.

  • You’re making me SO JEALOUS!! I think I have to move to Texas (by which i mean…move in with you) so that I can such beautiful strawberries and muffins at my disposal!

  • Kyle was just asking me today about making strawberry muffins so this post couldn’t have come at a better time. And since we have to wait until June/July for strawberry picking, I may just bite the bullet and buy the ones shipped up from Florida this weekend.

  • Wow!! These muffins look gorgeous!! Would love to make them soon!

  • You’ve got to love fresh strawberries. Especially in a muffin!

  • Debra Kapellakis

    Yummy ways to use them while they are here. thank you

  • Michele

    I just bought 4 lbs. of strawberries yesterday! I guess I know what I’ll be making this afternoon:)

    Do you think the muffins would freeze well?

  • These look and sound amazing! Love Love Love Strawberries! Thank you for sharing…these are on my to-do list 🙂

  • Sue

    I won the Horder Badge! 4 gallon buckets picked this weekend! BTW, Can’t wait to try these out! AND the strawberry cake! WOOT!

  • Becky

    These look perfect. I am not a short order cook but one day out of each year my kids get to choose what I make them breakfast, lunch, and dinner. (There Birthday) This year my 2 soon to be 3 year old said I want Strawberry Muffins for breakfast. I can’t wait to make these, They look really yummy. Thank you!!!

  • I am a strawberry lover!! 14 pounds of strawberries in my house would last me 7 days, and I only wish i were kidding 🙂 Like sometimes, I will eat a huge bowl of them for lunch, and nothing else… I wish i had some strawberry picking grounds nearby, like you do! These berries muffins look awesome.

  • Becky

    I did make these and have been requested to make more of them. I think this will be a recipe to definitely keep.

  • Myra

    I just made these yesterday following your recipe and they are fabulous! I can’t believe how amazingly light and fluffy they are! You can practically inhale them!

    However, with a toddler under foot the prep time alone was 2.5 hours and that’s WITH my mother and husband watching him. Well worth the wait though next time I’ll do it in the evening or during nap time. I think it was the interruptions and cutting up all the strawberries that took the most amount of time.

    Also, I live in the mountains near Lake Tahoe and we’re at 7,000 feet so I’ll share the alterations I made to account for the high altitude (and the muffins still rose and were light/fluffy/fabulous):

    High Altitude Adjustments:
    Decrease the amount of baking powder – use only 2 teaspoons
    Add 3 Tbsp of milk when adding the yogurt
    Decrease the amount of sugar by 1 tsp
    Bake at 420 degrees F for 10 minutes, then decrease oven temperature to 375F and bake for ~12 to 15 minutes.

    • I feel you, I get nothing done efficiently with a 2-yr-old under foot. Thanks for sharing the high-altitude directions!

  • Julia

    Just made these muffins – delicious 🙂 I added some lemon zest and skipped the almond extract. Thank you for the recipe!

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