Jam Muffins

There isn't anything very much better than freshly made, warm muffins. Unless it's a freshly made, warm muffin with a center of sweet jam. That's what these are - lovely little treats with a hidden surprise inside.



Pick any type of jam you wish for these little beauties - at our house the Precious Darlings love strawberry jam, and it's usually what I have on hand. But you can choose anything you like. Raspberry, blackberry or apricot work wonderfully too - so feel free to choose whatever your own favorite it.



As with any muffins, the trick to these is to not over mix the batter - that will toughen up the muffins and ruin the texture. Stir the dry ingredients in just until they are moistened, but no more. They'll be lumpy - but that's a good thing. And when you pull these out of the oven, make sure you let them rest for a couple of minutes before you pull them from the pan, or the jam will run out all over instead of staying put inside. That's all there is to it!

Ingredients

You'll need:



•2 cups all-purpose flour

•1/2 cup white sugar

•1 tablespoon baking powder

•1/2 teaspoon salt

•3/4 cup buttermilk

•1/3 cup vegetable oil

•1 egg

•6 tablespoons any flavor fruit jam, divided

•1 teaspoon vanilla

•1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

•½ cup sweetened flaked coconut (optional)

Directions


1.Preheat oven to 400F. Grease the bottoms only of a 12 cup muffin pan or line the pan with muffin cups.

2.In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

3.In a small mixing bowl, combine buttermilk, oil, egg and four tablespoons of the jam. Blend well. Add dry ingredients all at once, and fold together just until moistened. Batter will be lumpy, but don't over mix or muffins will be tough.

4.Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full - the easiest way to do this is with an ice cream scoop or disher so each muffin is exactly the same size. Drop 1/2 teaspoon of the remaining jam on top of each muffin, pressing jam into batter. Sprinkle tops of the muffins with nuts or coconut if you wish.

5.Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 2 minutes before removing from pan. Serve warm.

Store leftovers tightly covered. If you wish, you can microwave cold muffins for just a few seconds before serving.