Fresh Cherry Muffins

Easy and delicious cherry muffins made with fresh sweet cherries and a hint of almond.  Cherries are a wonderful addition to a basic muffin batter.

I know it is hard to believe, but I finally came up with a cherry muffin recipe that tastes just like my favourite one from the bakery.

What’s even better with this recipe is how easy they are to make! You can have fresh baked muffins in less than 25 minutes, making your kitchen smell amazing!

I love these muffins because of the almond flavour which makes them taste more decadent and really plays well with the sweet and tart flavours of the muffin. They also have a perfect crumbly texture, not too cakey or dense at all.

Cherry muffins are a great way to start off the morning. These quick and easy muffins are perfect for breakfast or an afternoon snack. They are sure to be a family favorite whether you make them for a weekday breakfast on the go or as part of your holiday breakfasts.

They’re light, fluffy, sweet, and have just enough tartness that will leave you craving more!

I hope you’ll give these fresh cherry muffins a try! And be sure to let me know how they turn out in the comments below.

What is the Secret to Making Moist Muffins?

The best muffins are moist and tender, with a fine-grained texture. Fresh or frozen fruit contributes both moisture and flavor to the batter, so it’s important to use good quality ingredients.

Using buttermilk, yogurt, or sour cream instead of milk will also give the muffins a moist texture.

Fats also play an important role in the moisture of muffins. Butter makes for a rich flavoured muffin, while oil makes for a more moist muffin.

We went with butter here because the cherries and buttermilk bring enough moisture to get away with it.

How do You Make Fluffy Muffins?

Be careful not to overmix the batter once you’ve combined the dry ingredients with liquids.

Because muffin batter is thick and heavy, it needs mixing only until most – but not all! – of the lumps are gone. Overmixed muffin batter can make dry, dense muffins.

Mix until the dry ingredients are moistened and no streaks of flour remain.

It’s also really important that you measure your ingredients as accurately as possible, and do not pack down your flour when measuring it.

How to Store Muffins

Muffins will stay fresh for up to 3 or 4 days in a tightly sealed container at room temperature.

They can also be wrapped in plastic, and placed in an airtight container or freezer bag, and keep frozen for up to 3 months.

Defrost the muffins overnight in the refrigerator before serving or warm them briefly in a low oven or microwave.

About the Ingredients for Homemade Cherry Muffins

Flour – Spoon and level the flour when measuring it, otherwise you’ll wind up with dense muffins.

Baking powder – Make sure it is active or fresh so it leavens the cake properly.

Salt – Helps to balance all the flavours and make em shine.

All-spice – Adds a little warmth. You could substitute with any other warming spice like cloves, nutmeg or cinnamon.

Eggs – Make sure your eggs are at room temperature before starting.

Sugar – Just use plain old granulated sugar. (Can also substitute with your favourite granulated sugar substitute or or brown sugar for a little added moisture.)

Buttermilk – Make sure your buttermilk is room temperature before starting. If you don’t have any buttermilk on hand make it yourself by adding half a tbsp of lemon juice to 1/2 cup milk.

Almond extract – Adds a nice nutty flavour to the batter. You can substitute with vanilla extract if desired.

Butter – Melted butter. If you use salted, reduce the additional salt. You can use a neutral flavoured oil instead, but the butter brings a lot of flavour.

Cherries – Fresh cherries are best when cherry season is on, but you can use frozen cherries too. If you use frozen, thaw the cherries first. Sour cherries are best for baking with. Tart cherries just complement the sweet flavour of the muffins. If you are using fresh cherries, using a cherry pitter will make quick work of prepping them.

Looking for More Easy Muffin Recipes?

Check out some of my favourite homemade muffins:

Lemon lovers will love these tangy lemon crumble muffins, a perfect addition to breakfast or mid-morning snack.

These Butter Pecan Ice Cream Muffins are not only inspired by the classic treat but also feature the actual ice cream as an ingredient!

Paired with a hot cup of coffee, these bakery style chocolate chip muffins make for a delicious breakfast time treat. This is a muffin recipe that is sure to be a favourite with your family!

These easy dandelion cupcakes with sunflower seeds are so simple to make, and are topped with a swirl of delicious lemon frosting.

How to Make Cherry Muffins

Makes 24 Muffins | Prep time: 10 mins |  Bake time: 13 mins

Ingredients:

3 cups  all purpose flour
4 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 tsp allspice
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup  granulated white sugar
1 cup Buttermilk, room temperature
2 tsp almond extract
1 cup butter, melted & cooled
2 cups cherries, pitted and chopped
vanilla frosting, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients.

In a large bowl, mix with a hand blender eggs and sugar. Add in milk, almond extract, and melted butter. Mix well.

Gently pour in dry ingredients to wet ingredients bowl, mix well, but do NOT OVER MIX.

Fold in cherries.

For jumbo muffins, grease muffin tins and divide evenly over 10-12 muffin tins.

For cupcake sized muffins, grease or add muffin liners into your cupcake tin. Divide evenly over 22-24 cupcake openings. Filling each of the muffin cups 2/3 full.

Bake at 425 for five minutes, then lower temperature to 350 degrees for 16-18 minutes for jumbo muffins and 13-14 minutes for cupcake sized muffins.

Remove from heat and allow muffins to cool 5-10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack..

Drizzle the top of the muffins with melted vanilla frosting if desired.