Muffin Monday: Almond Strawberry Biscuit Muffins

I was quite stumped with this week’s Muffin Monday. The original recipe was actually titled “Hazelnut Plum Muffins,” which required both hazelnut meal and plum jam. But when I went to Whole Foods the other night, their shipment of hazelnut meal wasn’t going to come in until the next day, and I was in no mood to make another trip to Whole Foods with it’s super cramped parking so I decided to use what I had at home, almond meal. (To be honest, I was kind of relieved that they didn’t have it - I wasn’t really thrilled about having to spend $11 on tiny little bag of hazelnut flour!) As for the plum jam, I’m not much of a jam person as it is so I didn’t want to spend money on a whole jar of jam for one recipe so again, I used what I had at home, which was strawberry jam. So I didn’t change too much, right?

Now these are definitely not your ordinary muffins, muffins that are kind of borderline cupcakes but you still call them muffins just so you can eat them on the way to the gym. At least, that’s what I do. No, these muffins are legit breakfast muffins that go perfectly with your morning coffee or tea. They’re not too sweet and they have a biscuit-like texture, tender with a crumbly exterior. When you get to the strawberry jam center, it’ll give you a nice sweet kick - a much needed morning jolt to start your day.

Almond Strawberry Biscuit Muffins (adapted from Women’s Weekly):

Yields 12 muffins

• 2 1/2 cups self raising flour
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 cup milk
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup strawberry jam

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners; set aside. (If you don’t want to use paper liners, you could coat a muffin pan with cooking spray instead.)

In a large bowl, combine the flour and almond meal.

In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together the butter, sugar, milk and egg.

Pour mixture over dry ingredients and stir using a rubber spatula just until moist.

Scoop the batter evenly into the muffin tray.

Make a well into each muffin top and drop 1 teaspoon strawberry jam into the center of each cup. (If the well is not large enough, the jam will ooze out while it is baking and it won’t be pretty. It’ll still be tasty, just not aesthetically pleasing to look at.)

Place into oven and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Not sure how I managed to do this but I got a heart-shaped strawberry jam center on this one.

Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.

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