Strawberry Muffins

ingredients:

2cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and levelled off + 2 teaspoons more for tossing with strawberries

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 stick or 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

1 1/2 cup milk

2 1/4 cups diced strawberries from a pint, divided

2 tablespoons Demerera sugar (natural brown sugar)

How To:

1.Preheat oven to 170c, line a 12 cup muffin tin with the paper liners- spray the liners and the pan with a non stick cooking spray.

2.In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and granulated sugar for about 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beating well after each egg.

4. Beat in the vanilla extract and the almond extract. (if the batter looks grainy, it's okay!)

5. With the mixer on a low setting, add the flour mixture in three separate additions, alternating with the milk and ending with the flour.

6. Toss the strawberries with 2 teaspoons of flour (this will keep them from sinking to the bottom of the batter).

7. Set 1/2 cup of the berries aside, Add the remaining berries to the batter and folder with a spatula until evenly distributed- don't overmix!

8.Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin,they will be very full! Scatter the reserved berries evenly over the muffins, then sprinkle the demerera sugar over the centre of each muffin (keeping the sugar away from the edges will prevent sticking.)

9. Bake for about 30 minutes, until lightly golden and a skewer comes out clean. Run a sharp knife around the top edge of each muffin to free it from the pan.

10. Let the muffins cool in the pan for about 25 minutes. Transfer the muffins to a rack to completely cool.

#baking