jam filled strawberry lemon muffins

Weekends and muffin baking seem to go together. I love these muffins because they taste a little more chic-chic than a regular old muffins yet are still really easy to make. Sweet and sticky, filled with a dollop of strawberry jam to make them lovely and moist. Often muffins are perfect just after they've been baked but tend to be a tad dry later that day or the next (if there's any left), the jam filling prevents this quandary. Take this basic recipe and then switch it around, use raspberries in place of the strawberries with raspberry jam. Maybe blackberries and orange would be delish combination. As long as the basic recipe stays the same, let your flavor imagination have some fun. 

jam-filled lemon strawberry muffins

2 cups self-rising (raising) flour

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup chopped strawberries

2 eggs

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup canola oil

2 tablespoons finely grated lemon rind

1/3 cup strawberry jam

LEMON SUGAR TOPPING

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Grease a muffin pan. Combine flour, brown sugar and strawberries in large bowl. Whisk eggs, buttermilk, oil and rind together in a medium bowl; add to flour mixture. Stir until just combined. Spoon half of mixture into muffin holes.  Add a spoonful of jam. Spoon remaining half of muffin mixture over jam.  Bake about 17 minutes or until cooked.

To make lemon sugar topping, combine both ingredients in a small bowl. Spoon over hot muffins. Let muffins stand in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Makes 12. 

jam-filled lemon strawberry muffins