I have joked with people before about having reverse SADS. I know I don’t really have this but sometimes I feel like I do. I love the winter. I love being active in the winter & doing “wintery” things. Once spring rolls around, I feel let down. Maybe it’s due to the fact that spring in Minnesota is basically non-existent. A muddy, wet, cool climate that prohibits me from ice fishing as well as doing other outdoor activities. Or maybe it’s from the fact that I have always thought of fall as the beginning of the year due to being in school from ages 3-23. Fall, for me, has always felt like a time to start fresh.

With that being said, the reverse SADS only lasts a small amount of time & I always laugh at myself when I feel this quasi-sadness, but it does happen every spring. This year in Almost Canada, the spring sadness came in a bit later due to the season arriving late, but rolled away with what I assume to be summer. Sunny days. Warmish weather. Yard games & shooting my bow in the backyard. It also came with strawberries.

Berries are one of the great advantages of summer. Fresh & seasonally delicious. These muffins will make your days seem bright & sunny or just add to the bright & sunny goodness you are already experiencing. These muffins are cake-like & spongey. Enjoy for breakfast, as a tea-time snack, or heated up with ice-cream for dessert.

Sorry for the lack of photos but they all got eaten & given away before any could be taken.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Muffins (adapted from Raspberry-Cream Cheese Muffins)

• 2/3 cup (5 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, not packed
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large egg whites
• 1 large egg
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk with 1/2tsp lemon juice
• 2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced & diced
• 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine cream cheese and butter in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at high speed until well blended. Add sugar; beat until fluffy. Add vanilla, egg whites, and egg; beat well.
3. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With mixer on low speed, alternate adding the flour mixture and milk to cream cheese mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Gently fold in strawberries and walnuts.
4. Place 20 foil cup liners in muffin cups. Spoon batter evenly into liners. Bake for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pans & cool on a wire rack.