I was in a rare cleaning frenzy on Friday. Like dig stuff out from the back of the closet kind of cleaning. It resulted in my finding a few things. I purse I forgot I owned, always a fun find. Six dollars and seventeen cents US dollars and $5 Canadian dollars. A bag of gummy bears that were a little stale…but still edible (don’t judge). And a crumpled up wedding veil. Now I didn’t wear a wedding veil at my wedding. I actually wore it to bowl the night before. I didn’t have a rehearsal dinner, we went bowling instead…cheaper and more fun. Anyway the veil was just a cheapy one, the kind that if you had a bachelorette party of something along those lines you might buy.
Anyway I was being goofy and put it on and decided I would put on a little Madonna’s like a Virgin and dance around. 🙂 When the song was done I remembered to turn off the iPod but kept the veil on (it was a short one so it wasn’t really in the way). I got to cleaning and cleaning and the next thing you know there is a knock at the door. I go open the door and it’s my UPS guy. We have the same one (well actually two…there’s a morning guy and an afternoon guy). I give my morning guy treats (shhh, don’t tell the afternoon guy). So he looks up and is trying not to laugh and says to me “I’m not really looking for a commitment right now” and then we both started laughing as I realized I still had the veil on.
Before he left I gave him some leftover cupcakes and joked “see if you like this flavor for our cake”. To which he laughed again and said fine but that his groom’s cake should be German chocolate. 🙂 FYI- his wife reads my blog so it’s all in good fun…he knows I’m only slightly crazy. 😛
I figured I best throw out (it’s not in good shape to donate) the veil before I scare off another UPS man. 🙂 I have a knack for having interesting incidents with UPS men. Three times I have flashed them thanks to the dog jumping up on me and pulling down what were baggy shorts/pants. So the men in brown love me. 😉 So that’s how we will tie these muffins in and say the little strawberry heart is for all the love the UPS men have for me. Ha!
If you don’t have Meyer lemons you can use regular lemons though I would add another 1/3 cup of sugar though. The strawberries aren’t really necessary either but considering the fact that Arizona Statehood Day is coming up (you know it as Valentine’s Day) I would try and be festive. Some of the batter eats the strawberries as they bake up and some survive…I guess like relationships (wow, I’m deep 😛 )
Meyer Lemon Love Muffins
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup granulated sugar
Zest of one Meyer lemon
Juice of 3 Meyer lemons
1 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
2 and ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 and ¼ cup sour cream
Decorative sugar
12 strawberries, hulled, and cut in half and then in the shape of a heart
Mix together the oil and sugar on medium speed for three minutes.
Add in the lemon juice, zest, and vanilla.
Add in the eggs one at a time and mix until each is incorporated.
In a separate, mix together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder.
Add the flour mixture and the sour cream alternately to the egg-oil mixture in the additions. Start with the flour and end with the flour. Scrape the bowl occasionally. Mix until just all the ingredients are together but try not to over mix.
Portion the muffin batter into greased tins (I use an ice cream scoop). Depending on the size of your tins, you should get about 12 muffins.
Sprinkle with decorative sugar and place strawberry heart into middle of muffin, don’t press too hard they will sink during baking.
Bake them for approx. 22-24 minutes at 350F. Let cool on wire rack.
hobby baker says
Awesome recipe – at the extreme end of the edible cuteness scale. Totally awesome story though, that even tops the cakes.
christina @ ovenadventures says
i have a special relationship with my ups lady. I’m always telling her what random thing she has just delivered me. lol
super cute muffins with the strawberry!
Kristina says
As funny as the whole thing is, the thought of you dancing to Like a Virgin in your veil is…priceless!
Rosa says
So funny! That USPS guy is cool.
Lovely muffins!
Cheers,
Rosa
bellini says
That is just too funny Peabody!!I can envision these Love Muffins in late Spring with strawberries fresh from the field. Those gigantic ones from California would never fit lovingly on the top.
Kristine at MapleLake365 says
These are adorable! I have worn my tiara around the house before…never been caught, though. 🙂
Kelly-Jane says
They are naturally beautiful, love them.
Hilarious story! UPS man is very funny 🙂
Becca says
I wish we had cool UPS guys and mailer people. 😛
I like how the strawberries creat little hearts. It adds a festive touch 🙂
Pip says
Great story, great recipe. A great blog all around!
Victoria says
Those are so cute!!
When my husband and I lived in an apartment, we had an awesome UPS guy. We saw him on a regular basis for a while since we were about to get married and kept getting presents from our registry. 🙂 After a few deliveries he just looked at me and said, “Getting married?” He was cool.
Bronya says
Both your UPS man and his wife sound like good sports!
These look so cute
Lynn says
UPS people with a great sense of humor….fantastic!
No one says anything about my answering the door in head to toe fleecy fluffiness. Boring.:(
Perhaps I need to add a veil.
And, the muffins look amazing!!!
Double yay!
LunaCafe says
Love these! The strawberry garnish is perfect. …Susan
Jay says
This is such a cute idea! 🙂
Erin says
I love cleaning that has those type of results. I desperately need to clean my place. And it would be even better if I could have one of these muffins in hand while I did it.
Liz Brown says
These look so yummy! I wondered though at what temperature to bake them at? I’m trying at 375 and hoping for the best.