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.

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.

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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