Strawberry Cornmeal Muffins

I subscribe to Rachael Ray’s Every Day cooking magazine and  look forward to receiving the new installment every month.  There are mouthwatering photos and many recipes to try.  In the May 2013 issue, there is a recipe for Strawberry Cornmeal Cupcakes.  After making the recipe this week, I consider these delicious morsels to be more of a muffin.

What you will love about these muffin/cupcakes is that they are not too sweet and are a cross between a corn muffin and a fruit muffin.  When I think of cupcakes, I always think of, well, frosting or icing, of course!  These strawberry cornmeal muffins are dusted with powdered sugar.  They are nevertheless scrumptious; and I had two for breakfast this morning, cut in half, toasted with a bit of Earth Balance spread about.

My one strong recommendation is to use finely ground cornmeal. I had a “coarse” ground (meaning large pieces) cornmeal on hand.  I blitzed the 1/4 cup required for the recipe in a food processor.  It helped, but next time I will use a finely ground cornmeal.

I used frozen strawberries that I cut up, but we are soon to be heading into strawberry season here in the Northeast and these muffins would be excellent with fresh strawberries.  Which reminds me of strawberry shortcake, one of my fave desserts.

The recipe made exactly 12 and I filled the muffin cups with batter to about 3/4 full.

Strawberry Cornmeal Muffins

Ingredients:

2/3 cup flour

1/4 cup cornmeal (use finely ground)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

1/2 cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)

3 tablespoons whole milk ( I used almond milk)

1/2 cup chopped strawberries ( I used 3/4 cup as I wanted a more strawberry taste)

Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line muffin plan with paper liners.

In bowl, whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.

Using electric mixer, beat sugar, eggs and zest on medium speed for 5 minutes.  (Tip – use a timer because it is hard to gauge 5 minutes).

Beat in EVOO and milk – (no photo, sorry, looks a little similar to last photo).

Add flour mixture; beat until just combined – do not over beat.

I poured the batter into a Pyrex glass measuring dish for easy pouring into muffin cups.

Divide among muffin cups, spreading among 12 muffin cup liners.  Then sprinkle chopped strawberries on top.

Bake until toothpick comes out clean, 20-25 minutes.

Dust with confectioners’ sugar.  Serve warm.  Makes 12.

As you can see, I got a little carried away with the powdered sugar on a few of these!

Adapted from Every Day with Rachael Ray.

Question:  What is your favorite morning muffin?  Leave a comment and let me know.  I would love to hear from you!

Enjoy!

Here’s the printable –

Print

Strawberry Cornmeal Muffins

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

20 mins

Total Time

35 mins

 

These are a great cross between a corn muffin and a berry muffin. Great in the morning toasted with a bit of butter, Earth Balance or even jam or jelly.

Course: Muffins/Cupcakes

Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cornmeal use finely ground
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
• 1/2 cup EVOO extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons whole milk I used almond milk and they came out great
• 1/2 cup chopped strawberries I added an extra tablespoon
• Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line Muffin pan with paper liners.
3. In bowl, whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt.
4. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, eggs and zest on medium speed for 5 minutes.
5. Beat in EVOO and milk.
6. Add flour mixture, beat until just combined.
7. Divide batter among 12 muffin liners.
8. Sprinkle strawberries on top.
9. Bake until toothpick comes out clean, 20-25 minutes.
10. Dust with confectioners' sugar.
11. Serve warm. Make 12.
12. Store in airtight container. Should last several days.