Strawberry Einkorn Oat Muffins
Strawberry season's not over yet. I can't get strawberries at the market anymore. And, alas, my garden had a short season this year. But that's no reason to sit around and sulk about it! We can still get delicious strawbs regionally and fold them into muffin batter and invite friends over for elevensies. It's our right, godammit!
I'm actually mourning the end of our sour cherry season this year, to tell you the truth. I made some delicious cherry jam kefir custards, and totally ruined a cherry pie (I cooked the filling in cast iron that had some old oil in it -- I was sick at the time and not thinking straight). I've had great moments with this years harvest and some real heart-breakers. A ruined pie full of the last of your cherry harvest is tragic in a totally FWP sort of way.
The strawberries in these muffins were left over from last years HUGE harvest. I froze them and they've been a wonderful addition to smoothies and pies and pancakes for almost a year! Our strawberry bounty this year was so small I couldn't force myself to cook them when I could eat them raw, fresh picked, and still warm from the sun. Mostly I've been focusing on my blueberry harvest (you guys I made a raw tart AND berry cobbler ice cream!!!). But I want to give a nod to strawbs -- which are generally my first glimpse into sweet fruit of the Spring and Summer.
I've made this a couple of times since and recommend using fresh strawberries instead of frozen. The frozen berries make the cook time last almost 10 minutes longer than it should.
The muffins are made with a combination of einkorn, oat, and almond flours -- recipe is adapted from Sprouted Kitchen's Brown Butter Espresso Chip Muffins recipe. I like how the einkorn gives the muffins a traditional crumb, and einkorn flour always pairs really well with almond, flavor-wise. Not to mention all of the lutein and protein einkorn adds. If you can't find einkorn, I suggest replacing it with spelt. I find einkorn and spelt are interchangeable, most of the time. This recipe is dairy free, but not vegan. If any of you have any success transitioning this recipe to be egg-free, let me know in the comments! I would love to hear your experience.
- 8 tbsp ghee or coconut oil
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup kefir (I used goat kefir, but you can use any thin yogurt or cow/coconut kefir)
- 1 tsp almond extract
- 2/3 cup turbinado sugar or evaporated cane sugar
- 3/4 cup einkorn flour (spelt works too)
- 1/2 cup oat flour (I just ground whole oats in a Cuisinart)
- 1 cup almond meal/flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 3/4 cup fresh strawberries, sliced thinly
- *streusel*
- 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
- 2 tbsp ghee or coconut oil
- 1/2 cup turbinado sugar or evaporated cane sugar
- pinch salt
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Grease or line a muffin tin (standard size) with paper liners.
- Whisk together the eggs, kefir, ghee, and almond extract in a medium bowl.
- In a separate, larger bowl stir together the sugar, einkorn flour, oat flour, almond meal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Add wet ingredients to dry, and stir to combine.
- Fold in your strawberries.
- For the streusel, combine oats, ghee, and sugar in a small bowl. You can use a spoon to get everything really well incorporated or just use your hands.
- Fill your muffin tins about 3/4 full, so that there is room for the muffins to rise.
- Sprinkle streusel on top of each muffin.
- Bake muffins on center rack 25 minutes, or until centers have cooked through (test with a sharp, clean knife by poking right into the center of a muffin).
- Remove and let completely cool before eating.