Strawberry-Orange Muffins

I’m in the middle of planning my almost nine-year-old son’s Get Smart birthday party, so I'm going to leave you with these strawberry muffins for the weekend. I know I’ve been on a strawberry kick recently, but the strawberries taste so good and are so beautiful I can’t seem to help myself. Maybe things will change when more fruits are in season, but I can’t guarantee anything.

These muffins are really good. Their strawberry-orange fragrance hits you before you even bite into one. The crumb is delicate and the muffins are moist from the strawberries, and I was able to use my homemade jam to top the muffins.

Strawberry-Orange Muffins
From Williams-Sonoma’s Muffins & Quick Breads
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup sugar
½ cup of milk
½ cup sour cream
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 Tablespoon finely grated orange zest
1 cup of thinly sliced strawberries (Place the slices between two paper towels to dry, so the strawberry juice doesn’t stain the batter.)
1/3 cup strawberry jam

Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter standard muffin tin. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, milk, sour cream, oil, egg and orange zest. Stir in the strawberry slices. Add the wet ingredients and stir just until blended. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin, and top with a scant teaspoon of strawberry jam. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 15-18 minutes. Cool the muffins in the tin for 5 minutes and then remove. Makes about 12 muffins.