Strawberry Lemon Muffins

Someone please tell me that when you see or think of strawberries you also think of Strawberry Shortcake. No, not the awesome dessert with a pile of whip cream on a spongy cake, but the toy. I am ashamed to admit it, but almost  EVERY  time have a big o'l strawberry up in my face I think of that red head little freckled face doll with the stinky strawberry hair, and that the Strawberry Shortcake "la la la" song starts spinning in my head. Mind you, I loved that toy. I wanted to dance and sing like "Ms. Straw-la la" and wear a big hat on my head with a berry on it. I also really wanted to eat all of these strawberry muffins...seriously sometimes things just don't go your way.

Let's get this party started. We had some extra berries and what better way to use them up than making muffins. Strawberries meets whole wheat flour, lemon zest and some buttermilk. Muffin town here we come!

Sugar and berries prior to mashing, added lemon zest and some lemon juice just to brighten things up.

I left some pretty large pieces of the berries to give the muffins some big, bold strawberry flavor.

Lucy's Chocolate Minis

I have no idea who Lucy is and I don't care. What I do care about is chocolate, sugar and eggs. And I really care that Lucy's lovely minis come together so quick and easy... (while the baby is napping type of easy and fast.) Plus minis are so cute and so much fun to eat... and portion controlled (if you can eat just one.) 

Added some candied pecans and sour cherries to the tops of a few to spice things up.

Melting the butter and chocolate....two other delicious things to care about.

I suggest you care about Lucy's Chocolate Minis too.

Apple Muffins

Sometimes life has a way of letting things just work out. They might not be perfect, but they work. Like trying to juggle family, house, dogs, and job... and just crossing your fingers that you don't run out of gas before you get home because you forgot to fill up the tank. You get my point, life sometimes works things out for ya..... it just does.

So, after a long break from baking due to getting a new fridge, that  had some "troubles." I am now back into full swing fall baking...gotta prep for the holidays! This recipe was originally made in a tube pan, but that is a whole lotta cake to bring to work for an office meeting. So, I decided to try making them into muffins...well it worked out...kinda a...not really.

The apples and the cinnamon as well as the fresh squeezed OJ (thanks Peter) added such great flavor to these very moist, very fall like muffins. However, they were a bit difficult to remove from their little muffin tins....so alas, not so pretty and kind of too moist to just grab and sink your teeth into. 

That said, they turned out just fine... almost perfect... life would not have it any other way.

Banana Bread Muffins

Whew!!! I have been so busy lately, so busy indeed. I even forgot about these bananas.

Well, you now know what has to be done. 

A quick and easy one two punch of bananas, melted butter, sugar and...ahem... bourbon.   Yes, these banana muffins are just what a busy week calls for..... I hear them calling!

Raspberry Topped Lemon Muffins.

How can you make these little berries any cuter?? Yup this is how!!!

Raspberry Lemon Mini Muffins....bake up a bunch and pop them in...sure to make you smile...and dance and sing!!!

They are just too darn cute!!

Summer Fruit: Ginger Peach Muffins

Now that Memorial Day has passed. Bring out the sunscreen, BBQ, and those amazing summer fruits. Stone fruits are starting to make their way into the market and in Santa Cruz they are just about ripe. A great match for Ginger Peach Muffins. The recipes calls for peaches that are ripe but still firm so that they can hold up to the bit of sauteing.  Perfect.

I love baking muffins to share with others and this recipe is full of wonderful peach and spicy ginger flavors. Kim Boyce's book Good to the Grain incorporates whole grains into her delightful recipe. A perfect combination of whole grains and sweet bursts of fruit... Ready for summer?  I am.

Using Oat flour gives this muffin a nutty flavor that mellows out some of the in your face flavor that ginger can give off.  I didn't want to use all the ginger that the recipe called for and used less of the candied ginger in the batter.  Next time I am also going to add more peaches to the top of the muffins as they added a bright burst of flavor.

One thing to make sure of is to let the muffins cool just a bit before twisting them out of the muffin tin... you will soon see that I can be a bit of an impatient baker and lost one in the process.

It's best to enjoy these muffins the day they are made, but they should hold up well if tightly covered for about 2 days, if they last that long.