Friday, September 24, 2010

You Do Know the Muffin WOman Part 2

Okay, so at playgroup today, I brought out the muffins, and they were a hit.  Thanks to one of my favorite little piggies Lochlen, a bunch were demolished so I won't have to eat them all and gain a gazillion pounds!  So, as promised, here is the recipe for the Strawberry Cream Muffins (which by the way taste like a cross between a muffin and a cheesecake...mmmmm cheesecake).

1 cup milk
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 & 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp almond extract
1 tsp lemon rind (I used the dried bottled kind by McCormick, and it added just the right touch)
2 large eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 & 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup diced into very small pieces ripe strawberries (I cut mine up first, let them sit overnight in the fridge till they were almost mushy, helps make them super ripe and super sweet...or you can use defrosted frozen ones to save time)

4oz softened cream cheese
1 & 1/2 tbl beaten egg
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

In a small bowl, mix together the cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 & 1/2 tbl egg, and 1/4 tsp vanilla.  Mix until creamy and smooth.
Melt the butter slowly in a pot on low heat.  Add the vanilla, almond, and milk.  Stir into the butter, warming until blended.  Remove from the heat, and cool until just warm, then mix in the 2 eggs.
Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and lemon rind until blended evenly.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour in the butter/milk mixture.  Blend until just combined, but don't overmix as the batter should be lumpy.
Using a well greased or non stick silicone muffin pan, fill 12 regular sized muffin cups 1/3 full.
Scatter 1/2 cup of the diced strawberries on the top of the batter.
Using a small spoon, dab about a teaspoonful of the cream cheese mixture on top of the strawberries.
Fill the muffin cups with the remaining muffin batter (they will be almost filled to the rim).
On top of the batter, scatter the remaining 1/2 cup of diced strawberries, pushing them in very slightly. 
Sprinkle the struesel mixture from the orange juice muffin recipe on top.
Bake the muffins in a preheated oven at 400* for 15 minutes, until they are light golden on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. 
Take them out of the oven, let them cool slightly, and then once again, try not to each the batch of these yummy warm muffins!

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