Preheat your oven to 425°F and line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners or grease it well. While the oven heats, hull and dice the strawberries into ½-inch pieces—this ensures they're ready to incorporate without delay once your batter comes together. Set the diced strawberries aside in a bowl.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon. Make sure to break up any lumps of baking soda and distribute the cinnamon evenly throughout the dry mixture. This ensures even leavening and consistent flavor in every muffin.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the softened butter, vegetable oil, and sugar until well combined and slightly lightened in color—about 1-2 minutes. This helps incorporate air and distribute the fat evenly. Pour in the buttermilk, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla essence, then whisk until smooth and fully incorporated. The vinegar reacts with the baking soda to help the muffins rise properly.

Pour the wet ingredient mixture from Step 3 into the dry ingredients from Step 2, and fold together gently with a spatula until just combined—the batter should be slightly lumpy with some flour still visible. Overmixing develops gluten and makes tough muffins. Coat about 2 tablespoons of the diced strawberries with a light dusting of flour (this prevents them from sinking), then fold the remaining strawberries into the batter. Reserve about ½ cup of the flour-coated berries for topping. I like to save the most beautiful berries for the tops—they bake into a jewel-like appearance that makes the muffins look bakery-quality.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about ⅔ to ¾ full. Top each muffin with 2-3 of the reserved flour-coated strawberries, pressing them slightly into the batter so they stay put during baking. Sprinkle each muffin with ½ teaspoon of turbinado sugar for a subtle crunch and sparkle.

Place the muffin pan in the preheated 425°F oven and bake for 5 minutes—this initial high heat kick-starts the rise. After 5 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking for 20-23 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. The center muffins may need an extra minute or two, so check those first. I find that the temperature drop prevents the tops from browning too quickly while the centers finish cooking.

Remove the muffin pan from the oven and let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes—this allows them to set and makes removal easier without crumbling. Transfer the muffins to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. They're delicious served warm or at room temperature.