Hull and dice the strawberries into 1/2-inch pieces, then spread them on paper towels to dry while you prepare the rest of your ingredients. This removes excess moisture that would make the muffins soggy. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425°F and grease a 12-cup muffin pan with butter or cooking spray. Have all your ingredients measured and ready before you begin mixing, including room temperature eggs (let them sit out for 15 minutes if needed).

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter and sugar using an electric mixer on medium speed for 2-3 minutes until the mixture is light, fluffy, and pale in color. This aerates the batter and helps the muffins rise properly. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed to ensure everything is well combined.

Add the room temperature eggs one at a time to the creamed butter and sugar, beating well after each addition. Pour in the buttermilk and vanilla extract, mixing on low speed until just combined. Don't overmix at this stage—the batter should look slightly curdled, which is normal when buttermilk meets butter. This will smooth out when you add the dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add this dry mixture to the wet ingredients from Step 3, folding gently with a spatula until just barely combined—some lumps are okay and actually desirable. Overmixing develops gluten, which makes tough muffins. I like to fold in the strawberries last, which helps distribute them evenly without breaking them apart, and keeps the batter from getting overworked.

Divide the batter evenly among the 12 greased muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 to 3/4 full. Top each muffin with 1 teaspoon of demerara sugar, which will create that signature bakery-style crunchy finish as it bakes. Let the filled pan sit at room temperature for 15 minutes—this resting period allows the baking powder and baking soda to begin reacting, creating a lighter, more tender crumb.

Place the muffin pan in the preheated 425°F oven and bake for 5 minutes—this high initial heat creates lift and helps set the structure. Then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking for 12-16 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out with just a few moist crumbs (not wet batter). The tops should be golden brown. The temperature drop prevents the muffin tops from browning too quickly while the insides finish cooking.

Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then gently turn the pan over and remove each muffin onto a wire rack to cool completely. This brief in-pan cooling sets the structure enough so they won't fall apart, while removing them prevents the bottoms from getting soggy from steam. Enjoy warm or store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.