Strawberry rosemary muffins

Boost the flavor of strawberry muffins by processing rosemary needles with sugar for a rosemary infused muffin. Use the leftover sugar to make a flavored butter.

In the kitchen, excess is often the mother of invention and this recipe is a perfect example of that principle. I went overboard buying fresh strawberries, and decided to bake them into something delicious before the overflow went bad.

I hadn’t made muffins in awhile, so that seemed like a good idea. As I gathered my ingredients, I found some rosemary left from another cooking project and though why not? After I baked up the muffins, I still had a few berries and a stalk of rosemary left, so I whipped up this delicious butter to go with the muffins.

These muffins are not too sweet and have a subtle whiff of rosemary. A sprinkle of rosemary sugar on the top gives a nice sugary-crackle. This butter is delicious on anything (think popovers or waffles), so you may find yourself making it for other uses.

Strawberry rosemary muffins
Makes 12 muffins

For the Muffins:
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup loosely packed rosemary needles
2 eggs
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 cups all-purpose flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup diced strawberries

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Spray 12 muffin cups with cooking spray.

2. Place the sugar and rosemary in the bowl of a small food processor or blender and pulse until the rosemary is finely ground and blended with the sugar.

3.Crack the eggs in a large mixing bowl, then whisk in the melted and cooled butter and the buttermilk until well combined. Stir in 1/2 cup of the rosemary sugar, then stir in the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt just until combined and there are no dry ingredients visible. Fold in the diced strawberries.

4. Divide the batter into the muffin cups (I like to use a 1/4 cup cookie scoop). Sprinkle about 1/4 teaspoon of the rosemary sugar over the top of each muffin, then bake for 20 – 30 minutes until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan.

For the Butter:
1/2 cups (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons of rosemary sugar (leftover from the muffins)
1/4 cup diced strawberries

Cut the butter into pieces and place in the bowl of a small food processor. Ad the sugar and strawberries and blend until smooth. The butter can be covered and kept in the fridge for up to a week. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Related post on The Runaway Spoon: Strawberry Buttermilk Cupcakes with Buttermilk Vanilla Frosting