Dried Strawberry Lemon Pancakes Muffins

My recent visit to one of Malaysia's hill station ended up with bulk of dried strawberries in my fridge. Cameron Highlands known as the largest strawberry producer in the country. Plump and fat juicy berries were everywhere in the highland. Beautiful vibrant red berries hanging from a cute little pots in the farms made me crave for a luscious summer bake which ended up with this version of dried strawberries lemon pancakes muffins. Why dried berries when i can easily get fresh ones? Simply because of their store-life. Dried berries stays in fridge up to 3 months, which make it easy for whipping up dishes with them anytime even after summer long gone.

Don't have dried strawberries? No worries you can use fresh berries instead and they work as good. Dried berries retains their vibrant red colour even after baking, creating a beautiful tone in the muffins. The lemon juice and lemon zest enhance the flavours of the berries and rendered an amazing citrus aroma and flavor to the beautiful muffins. Bursting with juicy berries and tartness from the lemon, the muffins are excellent for breakfast

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup roughly chopped dried strawberries
2/3 cup milk,room temperature
2 tbsp granulated white sugar
2 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp lemon zest
1 egg


Methods

Preheat oven at 350'F and grease 12 cup muffin tin with butter. Keep aside

In a bowl, sieve flour,baking powder,baking soda and salt. Keep aside

In another bowl, whisk milk,lemon juice,melted butter,lemon zest and vanilla extract.

Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and with a spatula, Add the chopped dried strawberries and  mix well to combined.

Using an ice cream scoop or a spoon fill the batter into the greased muffin cups and bake for 13-15 minutes