These Strawberry Oatmeal Muffins are the BEST! Delicate and light with bursts of juicy strawberries.
BE PICTURED IN; CHARACTERIZED IN:
Are you an oatmeal lover?
A few experimental batches later, I now have a strawberry oatmeal muffin that I’m proud to share with you.
Here’s the deal, you don’t want to just toss some chopped strawberries in an oatmeal muffin batter. They can if they want to, but they don’t get as good as they could.
First macerate the strawberries in some sugar with a little balsamic vinegar to concentrate and intensify the flavor of the strawberries. Macerating the berries also releases some of the strawberries’ moisture, which goes into the batter where you want it.
One ingredient you might find odd in this recipe is 1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper. I don’t know what black pepper is all about, but just that small amount brightens the overall flavor of the muffin.
The muffins get plenty of leavening made from eggs, baking powder, and baking soda. The baking soda and baking soda will react with the yogurt and vinegar once they come together, so work quickly.
Don’t leave the dough lying around. After mixing the wet and dry ingredients, get it in a muffin tin and in the oven as soon as you can.
Strawberry Oatmeal Muffins
The addition of black pepper to this recipe is important, but make sure you use finely ground black pepper, not coarsely ground. If all you have is coarsely ground, skip it.
ingredients
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1 1/4 cups old-fashioned oats
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1 cup plain yogurt
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1/2 pound strawberries
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2 teaspoons granulated sugar
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1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
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2 eggs
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1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
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1/2 cup brown sugar (packaged)
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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1 cup all-purpose flour
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1 tbsp baking powder
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1/2 teaspoon baking soda
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1/4 teaspoon salt
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1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
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1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
method
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Mix together the rolled oats and plain yogurt:
in a big bowl.
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Prepare strawberries with sugar and balsamic vinegar and then macerate:
Wash and deseed the strawberries. Roughly chop the strawberries (I cut them in quarters lengthwise, then make a cross section or two). You should have about 1 1/2 cups of chopped strawberries. Pour into a small bowl.
Sprinkle with white sugar and balsamic vinegar. Stir gently to coat the strawberries in the sugar and vinegar.
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Preheat oven, prepare muffin tin:
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Prepare a 12-cavity muffin tin by buttering or lining with paper muffin liners.
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, finely ground black pepper, and cinnamon
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Add the eggs, melted butter, brown sugar, and vanilla extract to the oatmeal and yogurt mixture:
Stir until just incorporated.
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Stir flour mixture into oatmeal mixture:
Gently stir the flour mixture into the rolled oats with a wooden spoon. Stir until just incorporated and the flour is moistened. Don’t overmix! Or your muffins will be gummy. The batter should be fairly lumpy, not smooth.
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Gently fold in the strawberries:
including the sugary vinegary liquid the strawberries sat in.
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Divide the batter evenly into the wells or cups of the muffin tin
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Bake:
at 400°F until tops are browned and muffin springs back when you gently press top with fingertips, about 20 minutes. A bamboo or metal skewer inserted in the center should come out clean.
Allow to cool in the muffin tin for a few minutes before removing to serve.
Links:
Strawberry, balsamic, black pepper sauce from Merry Gourmet
