#MuffinMonday: Strawberry Balsamic Jam Muffins

I hope everyone had a fun-filled weekend. Jason and I had a weekend getaway to Lake Tahoe where we jet-skied and did stand up paddle boating for the very first time, stuffed our faces with huge Mexican burritos while watching the sunset and watched the stars at night. It was absolutely gorgeous with the blue skies, the endless line up of huge pine trees and clear blue waters. It was definitely hard to leave that and come back to smoggy LA!

Coming home from vacation is always so depressing. We came home, unpacked and went grocery shopping but we have yet to do the laundry and clean the house. Then again, we can always do that next weekend, right?

Anyway, for today’s #MuffinMonday, I have a special treat for you guys. I made strawberry muffins but instead of packing them with fresh strawberries, I made a super easy strawberry balsamic jam and mixed that right into the batter along with some poppy seeds to give it that extra crunch. Then, at the last minute, I decided to use the leftover jam (no need to be wasteful, right?) to top these babies off before popping them into the oven. These muffins were wonderfully fresh, light/moist and chock full of strawberries built right into the batter, making it the perfect breakfast muffins!

So here’s how you make this:

Let’s first start with the super easy strawberry balsamic jam by combining some fresh strawberries, sugar and balsamic vinegar in a medium saucepan.

Bring it to a boil and then let it simmer until it starts to resemble a jam-like thickness. This should take about 15-20 minutes.

Next, let’s combine the dry ingredients for the muffin batter.

Next comes the wet ingredients - yogurt, butter, eggs, vanilla and 1/2 cup strawberry balsamic jam that we made earlier.

We’ll mix the wet to dry ingredients, stirring with a rubber spatula until its just moist.

Then let’s divide the batter up and top each muffin with about 1 teaspoon jam before popping them into the oven for about 13-15 minutes.

Let cool on a wire rack or just dive in when they’re straight out of the oven!

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.

One year ago: Shrimp Jambalaya

Strawberry Balsamic Jam Muffins (adapted from The Ultimate Muffin Book and Pastry Affair):

Yields 12 muffins

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the strawberry balsamic jam:

• 1 pound strawberries, diced
• 3 tablespoons sugar 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

To make the strawberry balsamic jam, combine the strawberries, sugar and balsamic vinegar in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until strawberries has thickened into a jam, about 15-20 minutes; set aside.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, poppy seeds, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, butter, eggs, vanilla and 1/2 cup strawberry balsamic jam.

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

Scoop the batter evenly into the muffin tray. Top each muffin with 1 teaspoon strawberry balsamic jam, swirling into the batter using figure eight motions.

Place into oven and bake for 13-15 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

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