Recently, I went on a several month long search for the perfect muffin, which to my surprise, was not as easy as you would think. Needless to say, there are tons of creative muffin recipes on-line. From bananas foster to coffee cake-streussel to carrot cake-cheesecake, I tried more recipes than I can begin to tell you about, much to the delight of my family. Although all of them were delicious in their own way, I picked each and every one of them apart for different reasons. Some dried out by the second day, others took too many steps to complete, still others used far more bowls and utensils than I cared to wash. Could the muffin of my dreams really be this difficult to find?

And then, one Friday afternoon, I came across a post from The Kitchn about a taste test of the four most popular blueberry muffin recipes on the internet, and who they determined to be the clear winner. The four recipes came from Martha Stewart, Ina Garten, Jordan Marsh and Deb Perelman of Smitten Kitchen. And the winner, drumroll please….Smitten Kitchen.

I love Deb Perelman’s blog and have been following it for some time now. I especially love her way of taking existing recipes, working all the kinks out of them, and creating something better and more approachable. What’s not to love? But, a blueberry muffin seemed so ordinary in a sea of otherwise unique flavor combinations. Nonetheless, my curiosity was peaked. A one bowl, chuck full of blueberries, ultra crispy top creation that literally comes together in a matter of minutes and uses ingredients that you most likely already have in your pantry sounded, of course, enticing. But could this simple muffin be the one that I had been so desperately looking for? There was only one way to find out. I had to make it immediately.

There was only one problem. I had no blueberries. To my dismay, after gathering the rest of the ingredients, turning on the oven and lining my cupcake tin, I searched through my fridge and found an over abundance of strawberries but not a single blueberry in site. Oh, the disappointment!!!

My mouth was watering for one of these muffins with a cup of coffee for an afternoon snack. So, what’s a girl to do? Without any hesitation, I made what are unquestionably the most perfect strawberry muffins instead. After all, what choice did I have, these were desperate times.

The Dishy Details

The trick to these muffins is the crispy top which is created by sprinkling an entire teaspoon of turbinado sugar on top of each muffin. This sounded crazy to me at first but I followed the directions and the end result was dream worthy.

If you’re like me, you eat the muffin body first and save the top for last. After all, this is the most treasured part of the muffin with all the the crispy edges. Well, I’m here to tell you that the sugar coating takes the muffin top, for lack of a better expression, over the top in every possible way. Crunchy, berry studded and surprisingly not too sweet, these muffins are the bee’s knees.

But, I haven’t even mentioned the delightful, subtle, citrus flavor that comes from the lemon zest, the most tender and moist crumb, or the fact that this recipe makes nine perfectly sized muffins which is just enough for my little family to enjoy without having to freeze a ton of leftovers. But, if you would prefer to make more, you can certainly double the recipe. And, because everything comes together in one bowl in a matter of minutes, they are perfect for a weekend breakfast treat, brunch, or any time you just feel like whipping some up.

The only complaint that I had was that the tops were a bit soggy on day two, not that my family seemed to notice as they were gone before I could try Deb Perelman’s suggestion of splitting the muffins in half and sticking them under a broiler to help crisp them back up. Alternatively, I imagine that they would be awesome grilled with a thick shmear of butter. Or, dare I say it? A scoop of ice cream. Um, I think I need to make another batch immediately, for the sake of analysis, that is (wink, wink).

I hope that you decide to give this Perfect Strawberry Muffins recipe a whirl. If you do, please let me know what you think or tag me on Instagram. I always love hearing from everyone and seeing pictures of anything that you make. And above all, thanks so much for stopping by.

Perfect Strawberry Muffins

Smitten Kitchen

This tender, moist, berry studded, crispy topped creation that comes together in under ten minutes and uses ingredients that you most likely already have on hand is the only muffin recipe you'll ever need

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Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 30 mins

Resting Time 10 mins

Total Time 50 mins

Course Breakfast, Brunch, Snack

Cuisine American

Servings 9 muffins

Ingredients

  

• 5 tbs unsalted butter (it's ok to leave it cold)
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• zest of half a lemon, finely grated
• ¾ cup plain unsweetened yogurt or sour cream
• 1 large egg
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp fine sea salt or table salt
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1½ cups fresh strawberries, diced
• 3 tbs turbinado sugar

Instructions

 

• Heat the oven to 375 °F. Line a muffin pan with 9 paper liners.
• Melt the butter in a large microwave safe bowl using 30 second intervals. Add in sugar, lemon zest, yogurt or sour cream and egg and whisk until smooth. Add in the baking powder, baking soda and salt and whisk until just combined. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the flour and and the strawberries.
• Divide the batter between prepared muffin cups and sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon of turbinado sugar. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of muffins comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove to a rack or, if you're like me, eat immediately

Keyword bread, easy, vegetarian