Strawberry mini muffins? Please keep in mind that I am known as She Who Hates Fruit In Muffins. Really. I don’t eat blueberry muffins, cranberry muffins, raisin muffins, or any sort of fruit pie or cobbler. I do not like them, Sam I Am.
But I love the idea of using seasonal fruit in my baking, and I like the flavors of most fruits. (I make a fresh fruit salad for my breakfast every day. For real.) But I hate the PIECES of fruit people put into baked goods. Gloppy peaches, dripping strawberries, chewy raisins & cranberries….gross. I will not eat them with a goat.
All the lemon and orange muffins got me thinking…what if you could make a fruit muffin that was still all about the purity of the crumb? Couldn’t that be possible? I went to my old friend Google to see, and that’s where I found this lovely little recipe for Strawberry Mini Muffins.
The first step was to puree the strawberries.
Here was my first obstacle. I can dance my way around an oven, no problem, and I’ve managed to learn a handful of stove-top skills, but the other appliances in my kitchen are still a mystery. And so I faced our blender for the first time.
Alas, the middle piece was missing. I fetched some tin foil, threw the strawberries in, and listened to it whir while the strawberries sat there, untouched.
Why didn’t anyone tell me you have to cut them up first?
It took a while to get there, but now I’ve learned my lesson, and ultimately I ended up with this:
Woohoo!
The other big woohoo? THIS:
Yep. I finally got a Kitchen Aid. It’s a thing of great beauty and power. (I bequeathed my magically wonderful Sunbeam to a deserving soul who will carry on its legacy.)
I was ready to give it its first assignment: egg, oil, and milk. Look at it go!
Beautiful.
For the dry ingredients, I made some changes. Instead of all purpose flour I used whole wheat pastry flour, and substituted just over 1/3 of a cup of it for wheat germ. I added sugar, salt, and baking powder.
I whisked that together thoroughly, then poured in a cup of strawberry puree. (I had to check with the person who posted the recipe first to find out if she meant that I should puree a cup of strawberries or puree strawberries until I had a cup. It was the latter. The recipe had said “1 cup strawberries, pureed,” so I wasn’t 100% sure.)
“Toss to coat” was in the instruction here. I made it so.
Is it terrible to admit that it looked like cat puke? It doesn’t come with that terrible sound but it looked nasty, especially when I started adding it to the bowl in the mixer.
Once that paddle started moving, things improved considerably.
On a whim, I added a half teaspoon of vanilla bean paste, and let the mixer work its mixy magic.
Once it was ready, I scooped it into the mini muffin tin. The batter was very thin.
I set the timer for 15 minutes, but they weren’t done to my satisfaction until 19 had passed. (I checked it every two minutes, though.) Despite the runny batter, they came out looking good.
I gave them a minute or two in the pan, then used a toothpick to pry them out.
Dave tried them first, I was too nervous. “Are you sure you liked them?” I asked. “Well, I already had two!” he said.
I made strawberry muffins! These were a hit at work as well as with Nathaniel. I admit I liked them a lot better the next day, but I think after a day or two they really need to be warmed up to stay interesting. But I feel brave now, and ready to try peach muffins soon enough. And the vanilla was a perfect addition.
STRAWBERRY MUFFINS RECIPE (original)
My version of Strawberry Mini Muffins (adapted from High Heels To Hot Wheels)
ingredients:
1 large egg
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup 1% milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 cup pureed strawberries
2/3 cup + 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup toasted wheat germ
1/2 cup cane sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
directions:
Puree the strawberries.
Heat the oven to 375 degrees and spray, grease, or line a 24-cup mini muffin tin.
In a stand mixer, lightly beat together the egg, oil, milk, and vanilla.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Add the pureed strawberries and lightly toss to coat.
Add flour incrementally to egg mixture on low speed. Beat just until thoroughly incorporated.
Spoon into muffin cups and bake for 15-20 minutes. Let cool in the pan for a minute or two, then move to a wire rack.
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