Now that July is here, our household is in full summer mode with visiting family and far-away friends. We enjoy kayaking and swimming in the cove, picnics on the beach, hiking in Acadia, watching the boats come and go on the town dock, wedding fireworks over Aragosta on Goose Cove, sunset meals on the deck and eating fresh berries. The strawberry season begins the parade: sweet red raspberries, tart blackberries and iconic Maine wild blueberries.
Since our tribe was young, picking fresh strawberries was a treasured, annual family outing. We are fortunate to have multiple you-pick farms in Maine, plus local farmstands and markets are bursting with boxes of this plump, sweet red fruit. Packed with Vitamin C, antioxidants, and fiber, these delicious berries are a package of good health.
In addition to strawberry shortcake and strawberry-rhubarb pie, another way to enjoy Maine strawberries is in a Dirt Bomb muffin. A relatively new confection, Dirt Bomb muffins were created by the Bantam Bread Company of Bantam Connecticut in 1995. A cross between a muffin and a cinnamon sugar doughnut hole, these treats went viral in the early 2020’s when featured on the television series “The Summer I Turned Pretty”. Although I never watched the program, the muffins themselves are irresistible.
The recipe for Strawberry Dirt Bomb Muffins is a simple, no-fuss preparation. The muffins taste sublime, not coarse in texture, but smooth and velvety on the inside and a buttery, sugary, cinnamon taste on the outside. It’s a snickerdoodle, French butter cake, and French breakfast puff.
There are a few simple steps that make these bombs taste so great, and the key ingredient is butter. Creaming the butter with the sugar creates the delicate texture of the pastry, and then this golden baked morsel is rolled in melted butter and then rolled in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Don’t be stingy! Be sure to roll the entire muffin in butter and cinnamon sugar. A hint of nutmeg flavors the cake-like batter, although the original variation included cardamon in the mix. While bomb muffins are often plain, we enjoy fresh fruit like strawberries or wild blueberries in the mix.
These muffins are best eaten the day they are prepared when the cinnamon sugar coating is fresh and still crumbly. If stored in a tight container and warmed slightly the next day, they are still heavenly delicious. The cozy, warm taste of a fresh donut without the mess of frying, a Strawberry Dirt Bomb muffin is a sweet temptation and tasty reminder of Maine summer.
Strawberry Dirt Bomb Muffin
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
- ½ cup butter at room temperature
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup strawberries hulled and cut into small pieces
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- For the topping:
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 6 tablespoons melted butter
Instructions
- Assemble ingredients and tools. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 12-cup muffin pan.
- If using fresh strawberries, wash and hull the berries and cut them into small pieces.
- Add them to a small bowl and shake 1-tablespoon flour over the berries.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and grated nutmeg.
- In the bowl of your electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the egg.
- With the mixer on low speed, add about ½ the flour mixture and ½ cup milk. Mix and then add the remaining flour mixture and milk. Mix gently to combine.
- Fold in the strawberries.
- Portion the batter between the muffin cups.
- Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 24 minutes.
- Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
- To finish the dirt bombs, melt the butter and pour into a shallow bowl. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar and the cinnamon.
- Roll each muffin in the melted butter, then roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture.
