The berry family is known for the health benefits each offers. Raspberries are a great source of fiber and manganese which promote weight loss and keep your heart healthy. They are an excellent source of vitamin C. Slow down the aging process and leave you feeling and looking younger!! Aside from being healthy for you and your body they are delicious!!
Actually raspberries and I have quite a history, my very first paying job was picking raspberries. We had a huge raspberry patch on our farm in Ontario and each year we picked berries, lots and lots of berries.What a great way to spend summertime, in the berry patch, picking raspberries, eating raspberries and getting paid in the process!!
Raspberry Patch
After the berries were picked we'd make raspberry jam. The old farmhouse kitchen would turn into a small factory of fresh berries, jam jars and aroma of warm delicious raspberry jam cooking......yum...that part I always enjoyed because I could sneak a taste while stirring the jam :) Truthfully said I probably didn't appreciated it all as much when I was younger but I'm left with some great memories. Now I enjoy berry picking and the best part is that I have my fill of fresh berries and plenty to freeze, make jam and bake with.
The best way to freeze raspberries is to spread the berries single layer thick on a cookie sheet. This way the berries will freeze quickly and won't freeze into a large clump. Once the berries are completely frozen pack into a large Ziploc bag and pop them back into freezer. Frozen raspberries are a great snack anytime. Best part is that frozen berries have virtually identical nutritional values to those of fresh fruit.
Clang!....bang!.... I guess my granny heard all the racket and it was starting to annoy her. Apparently she thought it was me, so she gave me a few warnings about not throwing rocks at the barn. I was busy daydreaming instead of picking berries and never heard anything, not even the snickers of my two sneaky siblings. I was snapped back into reality when my granny came over, gave my ear a good tug and told me to stop fooling around and start picking. I just thought I got in trouble for day dreaming until a few days later I was told what actually happened by the 2 troublemakers!! Of course they had quite a laugh at my expense, come to think of it I never got a chance for payback.....one day I will be avenged!!!
You'd think I'd be quite traumatized after that berry picking event and never want anything to do with raspberries but you'd be wrong. Those were the good ole' days something we sit, laugh and reminisce about nowadays.
One of my favorite things to make with fresh raspberries are muffins. And I have a great recipe for you. These muffins are everything a muffin should be. Soft and fluffy, a cross between muffin and coffee cake, not to sweet, filled with delicious juicy tart raspberries and a sweet buttery crumb topping.
Perfect for breakfast, lunch, snack anytime....I found these delicious muffin recipe on Joy of Baking.com. The muffin base is perfect I made a few modification but overall it's a great recipe. I like the fact that you make the streusel topping from the muffin base ingredients, no need for extra bowls and extra work. Try these muffins with your favorite berry, you'll Luv 'em!! Here's the link to the original Blueberry Streusel Muffins....
~ Raspberry Almond Streusel Muffins ~
11/4 cup milk (room temperature)
2 eggs
1/2 pure vanilla extract
1/2 almond extract
3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into pieces
2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
~ Streusel Topping ~
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup sliced almonds
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 16-18 muffin cups with muffin liners or grease lightly.
In a small bowl, mix together with a whisk the milk, eggs and extract.
In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the chilled, cubed butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender or a fork. Mixture should look like a course crumbs. Reserve one cup of the muffin mixture in a separate bowl to make streusel topping. To the remaining muffin batter, gently fold in the raspberries. Add the milk and egg mixture to the flour mixture. Stir just until combined, batter will be lump, don't over mix or muffins will be tough when baked.
Fill the each muffin cup 3/4 full with batter, using a spoon. Fill any unused muffin cup with water to prevent warping.
Streusel Topping:
Melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter. Stir in the sugar and sliced almonds into reserved crumb muffin mixture. Drizzle with melted butter, mix with a fork until it's crumbly. Sprinkle a couple of teaspoons of the streusel over the top of each muffin. Place in oven and bake until very lightly brown, firm to touch and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean about 18-22 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.
Makes 16-18 regular sized muffins :)
***if using frozen raspberries don't thaw the berries use frozen from freezer and don't over mix once you add liquids because otherwise your muffins will be pink!! ***
We still have a couple weeks of summertime and berry picking left. If you don't have time to pick your own berries I'm sure your local Farmers Market has plenty to offer. I seriously recommend making some of these delightful, delicious berry muffins. Be brave, be wild and be creative, there a world full of flavors out there to try ;) I'm thinking apple cinnamon is next on my list.....
Happy Berry picking you'all !!
Thanks for stopping by,
Love,
