Apr 1, 2012

Whole Wheat Strawberry Muffins

Strawberry picking season has begun! I am obsessed with strawberry picking and make it a competition every time I go. Unfortunately I am usually competing with myself, because, really, who else does that? I just love them!

Boone Hall Farms started their U-Pick season while I was in NYC, so my first weekend back in town, I was eager to get out in the fields. On Saturday, my friend Nicole and I made it out to the farm just before it started to rain. Between the two of us, we picked over 15 pounds of strawberries.

Once home, I washed, hulled, and sliced the majority of the strawberries so I could eat and bake with them throughout the week. The rest were frozen. The best way to do this is to wash them, cut off the tops, let them dry, and then freeze them whole. Make sure they are dry or else you will have strawberry icicles and that’s not cute.

But these muffins are.image

Whole Wheat Strawberry Muffins

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups sliced strawberries
  • 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 2 tsp. baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup fat free cottage cheese 
  • 1/4 cup canola oil 
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400*. Fill a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. Toss together strawberries and 1/3 cup of sugar.

  2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. In a small bowl, combine cottage cheese, oil, egg, and vanilla.

  3. Combine the cottage cheese mixture and the strawberry mixture. Slowly fold in the flour mixture just until combined.

  4. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Sprinkle the tops with 1 tbsp. of sugar.

  5. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool in pan for 5 minutes,  then transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.

In many cases, muffins are just as bad as cake. These, however, are low fat! You love them already.

image

It’s only March and the strawberries are already taking over my life. I’m not upset. But I do need your favorite strawberry recipes. Give ‘em up!

Do you pick fruit or vegetables at your local farm? What’s your favorite?

Send your strawberry recipes, please!