Treat of the Week: Stellar Strawberry Muffins

This past weekend, my mother whipped up some fresh strawberry muffins—alive with the brilliant flavor of strawberries and cinnamon. Since I actually got to be there for the preparation of them, I thought I’d share the recipe with you.
I have to say, these were the perfect burst of springtime on a cold, soggy winter’s day. Whip up a batch of these muffins, brew a pot of tea and let the sun into the dark corners of your house.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Makes 12 muffins (we doubled the recipe)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries
1 Teaspoon lemon zest
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup light olive oil or vegetable oil
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.

Gently mix together your strawberries with 1/3 cup sugar and your lemon zest. Lightly mash the berries and set them aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together your dry ingredients: flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. In a glass 2-quart measuring cup or a medium bowl, combine buttermilk, oil, egg, and vanilla.

Make a well in the center of the flour mixture.

Pour in the buttermilk mixture.

Next, add the berry mixture (with juice).

Fold until combined.

Using an ice cream scoop, divide the batter among the muffin cups.

Sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar mixed with cinnamon.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 17 minutes. Cool 5 minutes in the pan, then transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.