Valentine Muffins

The best Valentine's Day surprises are definitely homemade. I'm Lee Woodruff in the kitchen with Family Fun. This February 14th, teach your kids to bake these strawberry muffins filled with surprise centers; chocolate, candy, jam, whatever they'd like.

You'll need six tablespoons of butter, a cup of sugar, two eggs, one cup of milk, fourteen strawberries, two cups of all purpose flour, one teaspoon of salt, one tablespoon of baking powder, and Hershey's Kisses, Hugs or strawberry jam. First, preheat the oven to three hundred and fifty degrees. In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar. Mix in the eggs and add the milk. Rinse the strawberries and cut off the greens. Now, mash the berries with the potato masher or puree in a blender, then mix the berries into the butter and milk mixture. In a separate bowl, sift the flour, salt, and baking powder. Now, stir well. Add the flour mixture to the berry mixture, about a half cup at a time. Use a wooden spoon to stir until all the white disappears. Line the muffin tin with paper liners and drop the batter from the tablespoon to fill the cups halfway. Now comes a surprise, an unwrapped Kiss, Hug, or half teaspoon of jam. Then, spoon a little more batter to fill almost to the top. Bake until the muffins begin to brown. And, a toothpick inserted near the center, but not in the Kiss comes out clean, about twenty to twenty five minutes. Remove the muffins from the tin and cool. Serve them warm in a basket lined with a red napkin or on plate with doilies. Happy Valentine's Day!