Strawberry (Banana) Muffins

I wasn’t going to write about these. I just wrote about muffins! But then I had them for breakfast… toasted… with peanut butter. And that changed things.

So, with strawberries popping up and going on sale at supermarkets across the country, I searched for a strawberry muffin recipe, though I’ve probably never had a strawberry muffin before. This recipe, from Food & Wine, looked like a solid one, and I generally trust the source to put forth good recipes. Taking inspiration from the Cook’s Illustrated recipe for the best blueberry muffins, I cooked down half of the strawberries in some of the sugar for a more concentrated flavor.

 

I made a few other changes to add some nutritional value to these breakfast bites – using almost half whole-wheat flour, adding a banana and reducing the oil. You could probably reduce the oil to as little as 1/4 cup and still have good results. The muffins are anything but dry, not at all too sweet and full of delectable strawberry bits.

Check out the recipe rundown after the jump.

Recipe adapted from FoodandWine.com.

Ingredients 

1 pound strawberries, hulled and chopped

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole-wheat flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup canola oil

2 large egg

Preparation 

1. Preheat the oven to 375° and spray two 12-cup muffin tins with cooking spray or line with paper liners. In a medium bowl, toss 1/2 of the strawberries with 1 tablespoon of sugar and let stand for 10 minutes.

2. In a small saucepan, bring remaining 1/2 of strawberries and 1 teaspoon sugar to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries with a spoon or fork and stirring frequently, until mixture is thickened and reduced. Transfer to a small bowl and cool to room temperature.

3. In another bowl, whisk the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar with the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large bowl, mash the banana and whisk in the buttermilk with the oil and eggs. Quickly whisk in the dry ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the strawberries along with any accumulated juices.

4. Fill the muffin cups nearly full with batter. Bake in the center of the oven for about 30 minutes, until golden and puffed and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the tins for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Serve warm, at room temperature or toasted with a smear of peanut butter or butter.

Another delicious recipe from around the web:

• Best Blueberry Muffins at The Bitten Word