Sweet, juicy fresh strawberries are a gift, but when we want to get super-concentrated strawberry flavor into cookies, cakes, and more, we reach for freeze-dried strawberries, which are perfect for baking. They’re consistent in flavor, texture, and sweetness, and because they’re totally devoid of moisture, you can work them into baked goods like these tender doughnut muffins without fundamentally altering their structure. To get the best berry center, choose a thick jam that won’t run (like Bonne Maman Intense Strawberry Fruit Spread) and take care to sandwich the batter around it. Otherwise, the jam might leak—the muffins will still taste great but won’t look quite as neat. —Sarah Jampel
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What you’ll need
Scale
$26 At Amazon
Spice Mill
$60 $50 At Kitchen Aid
Electric Mixer
$40 At Amazon
Pastry Brush
$6 At Amazon
Wire Cooling Rack
$18 At Amazon
Recipe information
Yield
Makes 12
Ingredients
muffins
5
4
½
⅓
2
1½
¼
1½
1
2¼
1
½
Coating
6
½
6
special equipment
Preparation
muffins
Step 1
Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat oven to 425°. Lightly coat the cups of a standard 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray. Using an electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat oil, butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl and beat again just to incorporate. Add eggs, increase speed to medium, and beat until incorporated, about 1 minute (mixture might look a little curdled at this point and that’s okay). Add baking powder, baking soda, salt, and vanilla and beat until combined and creamy.
Step 2
Add flour in 3 additions, alternating with sour cream in 2 additions, beating on low speed after each addition until just combined. When last batch of flour is nearly incorporated, mix in any remaining dry bits by hand.
Step 3
Scoop 1 heaping Tbsp. batter into each muffin cup. Using a damp finger, flatten each into a mostly even layer with a slight dip in the center. Add 2 scant tsp. jam to each center, then divide remaining batter evenly among cups (about 2 Tbsp. each). Take care to seal in jam as much as possible. Using a damp finger, gently flatten surface. Bake muffins until golden brown, 17–19 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool 10 minutes in pan.
Coating
Step 4
While the muffins are cooling, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat; set aside.
Step 5
Finely grind strawberries in spice mill or with mortar and pestle. Transfer strawberry powder to a small bowl and mix in sugar and a pinch of salt. Transfer a small portion to a shallow bowl.
Step 6
Gently remove muffins from pan; place on wire rack and set inside a rimmed baking sheet. Brush sides of a muffin with butter and roll in strawberry sugar to coat. Brush top with butter; sprinkle with more strawberry sugar, working over bowl to catch any excess. Repeat with remaining muffins, adding more strawberry sugar to bowl as needed. (Save leftover sugar in an airtight container for another use.)
Do ahead: Muffins can be made 3 days ahead. Store loosely covered at room temperature.
Leave a Review
Reviews (23)
Back to TopMarvelous!! I filled mine with a combination of partially dehydrated peaches (to make sure they wouldn't get too soggy) and my homemade peach -vanilla - orange blossom preserves, and added a bit of nutmeg and almond extract to the batter. For the topping (I only buttered/coated the tops), I used a combination of sugar and maple sugar. Will definitely make these again!
Lisa
Princeton, NJ
9/21/2023
Finally made these last night. Amazed that the recipe calls for baking at 425 - thought it was a typo but says the same in the printed magazine. My muffins were done in less than 15 minutes and were starting to scorch on the bottoms. Temp seems way too high. If I make again I'd lower to 350 or 375 max like almost any other baked good. Freeze dried strawberries can also be a bit gummy so pulverizing into dust was not realistic. Sifted along with sugar to create a somewhat homogenous coating. Dough is a bit bland as well. Likely will not make again.
Aaron
Asheville, NC
9/19/2023
The muffin recipe is delicious and crumby (I like my muffins a little crumby)! I switched it up a bit, I used freeze dried raspberries and raspberry preserve that I bought from Trader Joe's. The preserve did not leak through the bottom of the muffins. I did find the sugaring process a little difficult, and I can't help but wonder if there's a sub for the butter in that process?
SK
Oakland, CA
9/27/2021
I really liked these. I’ve been burned before on muffin/bun recipes with lots of steps as I am not an experienced baker. I cut the recipe in half but otherwise followed it exactly and they turned out pretty well. I liked the flavor of the donut muffin itself and the use of the freeze-dried fruit. I agree that depending on how you place the jam in, they kind of leak, but I managed to have some that were still nice looking.
Anonymous
St. Paul,MN
8/29/2021
There were OK. I baked half of them in cupcake liners and the other half just in the tin with no liner. They all leaked a bit, so the ones in the liners looked a lot nicer. It might have been better to bake the muffins without the jam and then core and fill them. I found the dried fruit and sugar mixture tasted a bit like Koolaid mix, so I only covered the tops. That was plenty. The muffin itself tasted good -- maybe a little bland -- though I didn't get quite the cake donut-texture I expected.
Peter
Northern California
8/27/2021
The crumb and flavor of this muffin are lovely, but I found the proportions to be a bit off in the final steps. The amount of batter I had definitely exceeded a standard 12-piece muffin tin, and I feel I needed much more butter and sugar to successfully dip all my muffins. I had raspberry jam and dehydrated raspberries, which worked nicely for a raspberry donut muffin! Strawberry would be even better though...
doctorsarahg
Pownal, VT
8/23/2021
They taste excellent. However, it was difficult to seal the jam. I would suggest either rolling each muffin in your moist hand before putting them in the tray or perhaps cooking down the jam a bit further so it thickens. Regardless, huge fan of this dough, I would use it to make a loaf of plain cakebread and then slice it and spread jam on it as an easier treat to make.
Kate
Whistler, BC
8/23/2021