Carolina Strawberry Muffins!

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." in the strawberry world, anyway. It's that time of year again where everyone buys 4 or 5 gallons of fresh, ripe strawberries and not enough recipes to use them in. Soon enough, everyone will be up to their eyeballs in frozen strawberries, jams, tarts, muffins, and SO much more. So, what do you do when your strawberries are past their prime? Use them any way you can. I think this recipe is a good recipe for muffins to take for breakfast, as they aren't too sweet, but still lend the sweet strawberry flavor that we all know and love. 


Carolina Strawberry Muffins
Yield: 12 muffins

1½ c. strawberries, chopped
½ c. granulated sugar, divided
¼ c. butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
1¾ c. all-purpose flour
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
⅛ c. skim milk

In a small bowl, combine the half of the sugar with the strawberries and set aside for one hour. This will give the strawberries time to macerate and create syrupy goodness!

After one hour, separate the liquid from the strawberries and reserve for later use. 

Preheat oven to 425F and line a muffin tin with paper liners. In a medium bowl, cream together the softened butter and remaining sugar until light, fluffy, and well combined. 

Beat in the eggs one at a time until well combined.

 Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg in a separate bowl.

 Add half of the flour mixture, combine well. Next, add the strawberry juice and combine. Add the remainder of the flour, combine well, then add the milk. The mixture should be a bit thick, but still easy to stir. 

Fold in the strawberries gently.

 Spoon into the prepared muffin tin. Bake for 16-18 minutes. Allow to cool in the muffin tin on a wire rack. 

Apple Oat Muffins!

     This past weekend I went to an apple festival in a nearby town. I was extremely excited because I had missed the North Carolina Apple Festival in Hendersonville the week before. I had EVERY intention of purchasing some apples this year and was determined to make tons of apple recipes from them. Although it was extremely hot, my boyfriend and I did have a good time. Along the way, we also found prize-winning orangeade and some pretty cool knick-knacks!

     The apple oatmeal muffins I made are so delicious. They are mildly sweet with a hint of fall flavor (I suspect it's from the cinnamon). I thought they needed a little more "oomph" so I added a glaze. (Don't worry, I'll include the recipe for that as well) All in all, these muffins are a delightful (HEALTHY) treat, that even my boyfriend who grew up on fried food enjoys!

Apple Oat Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

2 cups apples (see below)
1½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
1/3 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)
1½ tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon (more or less to taste, this is a generous amount)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1/4 cup skim milk
2 egg whites
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1½ tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400F.
Spray muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray or use liners.

To begin, peel and core and dice (or grate) apples. I used two large golden delicious apples and diced fairly small and was able to reach 2 cups. You may choose to grate the apples if you want the apple to be a little more unnoticed. I happen to like the chunks of apples, so I opted to take the extra time to dice finely. Lay on paper towel and remove excess liquid (this may require a little squeezing)- the point is just to get them fairly dry before adding to batter.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, oats, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk yogurt, milk, egg whites, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Pour the wet mixture into your dry ingredients and fold gently just until combined. Be careful not to overmix. Fold in grated or diced apples.

Spoon the muffin batter into the cups evenly. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Place muffin tin on a wire rack and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Use a butter knife to loosen the edges of the muffins. Allow to cool completely before storing, or serve warm.

Maple-Cinnamon Glaze

1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. maple syrup
1 tbsp. skim milk

Combine powdered sugar, cinnamon, and maple syrup. Add milk slowly, until  desired consistency is achieved. Drizzle over muffins or spread a thin layer over top of each.

Nutritional Info(Amounts reflect no glaze)

• Servings Per Recipe: 12
• Amount Per Serving
• Calories: 149.4

• Total Fat: 3.0 g
• Cholesterol: 0.1 mg
• Sodium: 180.6 mg
• Total Carbs: 26.8 g
• Dietary Fiber: 2.0 g
• Protein: 3.9 g