So what do you do with all the strawberries you pick at a pick-your-own strawberry farm? You think of every possible strawberry recipe you've wanted to make and you bake up a storm the next day, which is exactly what I did.
Strawberry Lemonade Yogurt Mufins
(and Strawberry Picking)
A friend at work had mentioned to me that she would go strawberry picking every Saturday in the late spring last year. She would rave about how fresh, sweet, and delicious these hand picked strawberries were.
Since I had some free Saturdays this June I decided why not try out this strange new concept of strawberry picking. Well let me tell you, I will do this little adventure every year. The farm is about an hour away from where I live, but the drive is very enjoyable. Lots of farms and back roads; some of my favorite scenery.
Once there you get a cardboard basket and you pay one set price per basket, so you fill it to the very very top. Fields and fields of strawberries line the landscape. There was actually a lot more people there then I would have thought. Many with their children. I found it to be a great deal of fun, my husband not so much. He was really more mad about all the photo ops I was making him do.
The strawberries are just like my friend described them. Fresh off the bush they are ruby red, plump, juicy, sweet little things. Far better then any store bought strawberry I have ever had. There was not an ounce of tartnesses to their taste and not a bit of white in the center.
Apparently you can not only pick as many strawberries as you want to bring home, but you can eat as many as you want while you are there. Of course I was too chicken, afraid of getting caught as a strawberry thief, so I only sneaked one. When we brought them home Eva couldn't get enough of their smell. It was quite strong. Filled the car the whole ride home.
So what did I do with all these strawberries you ask? First I made Strawberry Lemonade Yogurt Muffins. Now if that doesn't sound like summer, I don't know what does.
These muffins are soooo delicious, I could have probably eaten them all in one sitting. They are the perfect balance of sweet and tart and the yogurt makes them super moist. Perfect mid morning snack.
Strawberry Lemonade Yogurt Muffins
adapted from Southern Living Magazine
Makes: 15 muffins | Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 16 minutes
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups self rising flour
1 cup sugar
8 oz. vanilla greek yogurt
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 tbs lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 1 1/2 lemons)
2 large eggs, light beaten
1 1/2 cups diced fresh strawberries
For the Topping:
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cold butter, diced
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine flour and 1 cup sugar in a large bowl.
2. Stir together yogurt, butter, lemon zest, lemon juice and eggs in a mixer. Slowly add flour mixture into the mixer on slow speed. Once the flour mixture has been incorporated, gently fold strawberries into batter by hand.
3. In another bowl, mix together the sugar, flour, and salt. With a fork or pastry cutter, cut in the butter till mixture becomes as fine as crumbs.
3. Spoon batter into lightly greased muffin pans, filling three-fourths full. Sprinkle crumb topping over batter.
4. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into center of muffins. Remove from pan after 1 minute and let cool on a wire rack.
5. Serve with butter, strawberry jam or honey!
