Strawberry or Blueberry Cream Muffins

Ingredients:
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sour cream
2 cups berries ( fresh or frozen)

Preheat oven to 375 F.  Line jumbo muffin tins with paper cups or grease well with cooking spray like PAM.

Mix flour, baking soda, salt and set aside.  Beat eggs lightly, add oil, then add sugar.  Beat until blended well.  Then add eggs and vanilla and beat again.  Gradually add the flour mixture alternating with the sour cream in 3 parts flour/2 parts sour cream, starting and ending with the flour mixture.  Do not overbeat.  Fold in fresh or frozen berries.  Fill muffin cups almost to the top to get a nice rounded muffin top.

Bake at 375 for the first ten minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 and bake an additional 15 minutes.  Check center of muffins with a toothpick to ensure they are cooked all the way through.

Makes 12 jumbo muffins.  Eat in two days or freeze up to three weeks.

Banana Muffins w/ Crumb Topping



Marika's Banana Muffins w/ Crumb Topping

Ingredients


Wet
7 ripe bananas (very yellow with lots of dark speckles)
2 sticks melted butter
2 cups of granulated sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla






Dry
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon

Getting started...Preheat oven to 350 degrees for a convection oven or 375 for a conventional oven.   Prepare a 12 cup jumbo muffin tin by lining with paper baking cups or by greasing them very well with vegetable spray.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, whisk all dry ingredients together and set aside. 

In another large bowl, using a mixer with a paddle attachment, a hand mixer, or a very strong hand, mash bananas until they are a creamy consistency.  Then add sugar and blend well.  Slowly pour melted butter into banana/sugar mix while mixer is running on slow or while stirring.  Add vanilla and eggs one at a time blending well after each addition.

Add flour mix to wet mix in two parts, making sure to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula in between.  Mix until blended completely, but be careful to not over mix!  Fill prepared muffin cups almost to the top leaving just a 1/2 inch of space.  Sprinkle crumb topping on each, lightly pressing the crumb topping into the batter with your hands.

Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes or until muffins look set and a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean.

Crumb Topping (Optional)
1 1/4 cups of flour
1 cup of light brown sugar
1 stick melted butter

Mix flour and light brown sugar with a fork until blended thoroughly and no large chunks of sugar remain.  Add melted butter and form crumbs with a spoon or your hands.

Baking Tip:  Allowing eggs to sit out until room temperature allows them to blend better with the other ingredients making for a better product!