Strawberry Smash Muffins

A friend of mine picked up a bunch of strawberries from Oxnard earlier in the week. Of course I went one a strawberry recipe hunt, but then I remembered I had been wanting to try strawberry muffins for a while. In case you couldn't tell, I *kinda* like baking with strawberries. I was a little loathe to turn on my oven with the muggy weather we have been having lately, but it cooled down enough one night for me to make them. They came out really well and I was a little surprised at how light and fluffy they were. Of course, they made my apartment smell amazing!!

Strawberry Smash Muffins
(Adapted from CookingLight)

Makes 12 muffins

1 pint of strawberries, washed, hulled and chopped
1 stick butter melted and cooled
Zest from 1 lemon, about 2 tsp
2 large eggs
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 c sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
cooking spray

For the topping (optional)
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a small bowl mix together the butter and egg. In a food processor or blender, pulse together strawberries and lemon zest until the strawberries are roughly smashed, it is ok to still have chunks of strawberry.

Whisk together the strawberries with the butter and egg mixture.

In a large bowl sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Add the strawberry mixture to the dry ingredients until just combined.

Spray the muffin tins with cooking spray and and spoonfuls of batter into each tin, filling each about 3/4 of the way. If desired, sprinkle each muffin with a little bit of the cinnamon and sugar mixture.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until a fork inserted in the center of the muffin comes out clean. Turn out the muffins onto a wire rack and allow to cool before serving.