[Sponsored] Update: The recipe is now available in this post. The cold weather’s here, but you can still bring the taste of summer to your table with local preserves. These Jam Muffins showcase the bounty of Middlesex County. This post is sponsored, which means that the good folks in the Middlesex County Economic Development Department paid me to come up with a recipe and write about it. And they covered the cost of the jam, too. The recipe is my own idea, and my opinions about Middlesex produce are, as ever, my own.
Triple Berry Jam Muffins
Is there anything better than the scent of fresh, warm muffins on a wintry morning? Well, yes — adding a generous amount of beautifully preserved local jam to those muffins before you bake them. Yes, the jam’s inside the muffins … how clever is that?
The jam is like the star of a one-person show here because it plays so many roles simultaneously. It adds flavour, colour, moistness and texture to these muffins, not to mention most of the sweetness apart from a bit — just a wee bit — of local honey. And because this one ingredient plays so many parts, this recipe is about as simple as they get.
The Preserves
For the preserves, I turned to Nancy Abra, who combines her passions for cooking and gardening in her business, From My Garden, near Thorndale, not far from London. With over 45 years of experience making preserves, Nancy develops unique flavour combinations that showcase summer’s fruits. I caught up with her at a local craft bazaar in December, where we chatted about what jam would work best in my muffins. She recommended her Triple Berry Spread and I’m glad I took her advice.
The flavour is an exceptional celebration of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries, without the jarring sweetness of many jams. Of course, it’s jam, so it’s sweet, but I was seriously impressed at how restrained the use of sugar is in these preserves.
A Jammy Dilemma
The only problem with the recipe is that it takes an entire one-cup jar of jam. Otherwise I just might have slathered some more on my muffins before eating them! On the other hand, they’re so flavourful and moist, no butter or jam is needed. But who am I to judge should you choose to indulge?
Let’s Get Baking!
I know, you want the recipe, right? Originally I didn’t publish it here on the blog, and you could only find it over in the Middlesex Country Economic Development newsletter. But good news — it’s now available right here on Urban Cottage Life. Happy baking, and even happier eating!
Jam is definitely the star of these muffins, adding colour, flavour, texture and sweetness, allowing the rest of the recipe to be quite simple. I used Nancy Abra’s From My Garden Triple Berry Spread with strawberries, raspberries and blueberries.
The only special addition is bran, which I always add to muffins. To my way of thinking, a muffin needs to be distinct from a cupcake; adding bran means these muffins don’t just taste good, but they work for you, too (ahem).
- 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup wheat bran
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 cup milk (I use 2%)
- 1 extra-large egg
- 1 cup From My Garden Triple Berry Spread (1 250-mL jar)
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Pre-heat the oven to 400°F. Place 18 large paper liners in two muffin trays.
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Combine the flour, bran, baking soda and baking powder in a small bowl, stir together and set aside.
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Put the oil, honey, milk and egg in a large mixing bowl and whisk together until well incorporated. Stir in the jam.
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Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir just until combined.
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Evenly distribute the batter among the 18 lined muffin cups until 2/3 to 3/4 full. Bake in the pre-heated 400°F oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they’re risen, browned and a tester comes out clean. The tops may crack a little, but that just allows the beautiful jam to show through.
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Cool the muffins in the tins on baking racks for about 5 minutes, then remove the muffins to continue cooling on the racks. Eat warm or at room temperature.
Looking for More Middlesex County Fare?
Here are some more recipes I’ve developed for Middlesex County: Sugar Shack Maple Cupcakes, Chicken and Harvest Vegetable Shepherd’s Pie and Caramel Apple Crumble Squares. I hope any or all of them inspire you to get out for a drive in the country to talk to your local farmers and food producers and enjoy something good to eat.
First published 2018 01 22
Republished 2019 09 23
Jam sounds delicious in muffin ,,,,,
Doesn’t it though!