Mango Muffins

My grandmother has a mango tree in her backyard, which means that each summer our fridge is bursting with juicy red-orange fruit (not to mention the bags and bags of diced mango in the freezer to be enjoyed in the dead of winter, "winter" being a relative term in South Florida). Despite all the mango smoothies, mango salsa, and mango sorbet we consume, I've never created mango baked goods before, an egregious oversight on my part I thought should be ameliorated immediately, especially since there was no more room in either the fridge or the freezer and I had no more pressing plans for the evening than watching "Snowpiercer."

That's one plate for me . . .

In the interests of full disclosure, my first foray into muffin recipe-creating produced muffins that were so heavy, they could have been used to build a bearing wall (although they still tasted delicious), so I found a few tips that were extremely helpful and thought I should pass them on. Baker solidarity!

• Mix the dry ingredients first, then mix the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. It may seem annoying to have an extra dish to wash, but it's crucial to creating the right texture.
• Do not overmix! I'm certainly guilty of this, but overmixing is the number one reason why muffins don't turn out light and fluffy. 10 to 15 rotations should do it, and don't worry if there are still pockets of white flour in the batter - they're supposed to be there!
• If you're spraying/greasing the muffin tin, make sure to only spray/grease the bottom, avoiding the sides as much as possible.

These muffins are dense, but in a filling way. I stretched the batter to 18 muffins, but 15 would probably be a wiser choice. The diced bits of mango add nice bursts of flavor, and there's no oil or butter, so they aren't too hard on the waistline either. They're great on their own, but a lime glaze (powdered sugar and lime juice, mixed to whatever consistency floats your boat) would add a nice kick if you're feeling adventurous.

Recipe:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1 egg

1/4 cup almond milk

3/4 cup mango puree

3/4 cup diced mango (these should be firm, not too ripe)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Mix dry ingredients together and form a well.

3. Mix wet ingredients together.

4. Add wet ingredients to the well and mix (again, don't be here too long!)

5. Scoop into muffin tins (these should either be lined or lightly sprayed, as the contents of your pantry dictate).

6. Lower the oven to 375 degrees and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.