Very Berry Muffins

It's officially SPRRRRIIIIINNNG!!  The sun is shining (after having snow at our house three out of seven days this week, but who's counting?), flowers are poking their heads out of the ground (which makes me feel like I should be out there gardening instead of typing this!), and...well, Spring muffins are baking in the oven?!  Yes they are!  Quadruple berry muffins in fact.

You guys.  These muffins.  They are soooo tasty and full of berry goodness...you're going to love them.  Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries.  Perfect.      

Some tips:  I used whole berries for this recipe rather than chopping each berry into smaller pieces.  If you're doing the same, make sure that you use muffin liners which will help to keep the berry trapped in with the rest of the muffin when you are removing it from the tin after baking.  Once they cool in the muffin liner, there will be no fear of the side or bottom of your muffin coming off because it's more berry than muffin. That's right, more berry than muffin.  Also, if you are using frozen berries, throw them into the muffin mixture in their frozen state rather than thawing them first.  This will ensure that your muffin mix doesn't turn purple.



This recipe came from The Best of Bridge, and from that recipe I omitted the crumbly sugary topping that is the final step.  For those who want to take it all the way, simply mix together 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest, 1/2 cup pecans or walnuts (toasted and chopped), and 2 tbsp. softened butter.  Before putting the muffins into the oven, top each with 1 tbsp. of this mixture.  

Enjoy!

Very Berry Muffins

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 large egg, beaten
1 cup frozen or fresh berries (I used a strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry mix)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F.  In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon zest, cinnamon, and salt.  Make a well in the centre, and add milk, melted butter, and eggs.  Mix until smooth.  Carefully fold in berries.

Food porn

Place paper liners into muffin cups, and fill each with the mixture.

Bake on middle oven rack for 20 - 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.  Remove from oven and place muffin tin on a rack to cool for 5 minutes, then remove from muffin tins.

Makes:  12 medium muffins

The Hubby's Review: Mmm.

Adapted From: The Rest of the Best