by Kelly J. Larson

Muffins are a breakfast indulgence that get a green light for being slightly healthy since they often have fruit in them. I love to bake and to devour muffins and continue to amp up my stash of muffin recipes on Kelly’s Kitchen Creation. Glazed Strawberry Muffins are similar to my GLAZED LEMON BLUEBERRY MUFFINS, but are made with strawberries instead of blueberries and are quite lovely in February as Valentine’s Day treats.

Strawberry Muffins

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups fresh strawberries, diced

Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Beat eggs and sugar on high for 5 minutes. Stir in butter, buttermilk and vanilla. In separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt together. Add to wet ingredients, but do not over mix.

Carefully stir in the diced strawberries with a large spoon. Divide batter evenly among 15 muffin paper liners. Bake for 20 minutes or until lightly golden on top. Cool completely before adding glaze.

If you have access to paper baking cups like these, they provide a rim to prevent the glaze from drizzling off the edges. I actually made the glaze too runny this time and only had one package of festive aqua colored paper baking cups handy. If I were to create another batch, I could show the desired consistency, but would not have the cute paper liners with the edges. Dilemma!

Skip the glaze altogether and dig right in — or whip it up to add a nice finishing touch that elevates the appearance and sweetness somewhat. You could tint the glaze with red food coloring, add crystal sprinkles or finely chopped strawberries also, if desired.

Glaze

• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 tablespoon strawberry jelly
• pinch of salt
• 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 drop pink AmeriColor soft gel paste
• 1 cup diced strawberries for garnish

When using smaller molded paper muffin holders like these made by Simply Baked, fill 20 to 24 with a large stainless steel scoop.

Baking at a higher temperature helps the muffins to rise better. Bake at 400 F for about 18-19 minutes. When you touch the top of the muffin, it should feel done.

Add the glaze using a spoon or Wilton Easy Pour Funnel.

Top with a few diced strawberries.

Chill muffins in refrigerator until serving.

Makes 24 smaller sized muffins.