When I have something left in the refrigerator that is just about past its shelf life, I always try to find a recipe that I can make to incorporate the ingredient so they don't go to waste. I get the biggest thrill out of "making something from nothing," so when I had a big handful of strawberries that weren't so pretty anymore, meaning the kids wouldn't be eating them, I went looking for a recipe that could use them. I love the internet, being able to type "strawberry recipes" and finding so many links quickly is nice. This recipe for Sunny Morning Muffins sounded good and I thought I could cheat a little and make them on a Friday night because it meant I could wake up Saturday morning and eat them without having to cook first, which for me = a much sunnier morning. Wenatchee has this bad habit lately of being sunny and beautiful Monday-Friday and then rainy all weekend. I thought maybe with something as sunny sounding as these muffins that I could sway the weather gods into sending a few of those golden rays our way when we could actually be outside to enjoy them. Long story short, I made the muffins, but we still woke up to grey skies. Nothing dark and ominous, but it has been raining off and on anyway. Weather aside, these muffins are pretty tasty and helped turn the grey day a little warmer. The recipe is at the link above, but I will add that they didn't include quantity (mine made 16) and the lemon zest flavor is pretty strong using the whole lemon as indicated. You might consider using less if it's not your favorite flavor. Here's to sunny mornings!
[edit: Since I posted this, I wanted to add that these were really good right out of the oven. But after sitting in a more airtight setting, the tops got a bit wet. The muffins were moist, but the tops were too moist and a bit unappealing. I later saw several comments on the original recipe post (link above) that mentioned something similar. Just wanted to give a heads up that these are probably better made and eaten the same day.]
