I’m seeing fresh cherries pop up in my local grocery store and my favorite farmer’s markets, which means that it’s time for baking with cherries and making some cherry muffins! I’m also making this gorgeous Cherry Pie recipe with all of these fresh cherries. These muffins are best when made with in-season cherries, whenever that season is for you. In the US, sweet cherries are available between May and August, so for me, this is a summertime must-have.
Why You’ll Love This Cherry Muffin Recipe
These muffins are just sweet enough. Not overly sweet and a little bit tart from the cherries, we aren’t adding a lot of extra sugar. This makes them perfect for breakfast. If you prefer your muffins on the sweeter side, you can add more sugar to the recipe without any issues. Almond Extract is added to complement the flavor of cherries, and makes these muffins extra special. Everyone loves muffins. A batch of fresh muffins like these would make an amazing gift for a new neighbor or friend who needs a little boost. Wrap them up with a bow and make a delivery! You could also make my Morning Glory Muffins, Cranberry Orange Muffins, Strawberry Banana Muffins or Lemon Muffins. These muffins have a bakery-made texture with a dense, moist crumb and beautifully peaked tops. They look as amazing as they taste. Homemade cherry muffins are made with simple everyday ingredients and are prepared and baked in about a half-hour.
Ingredients in Cherry Muffins
All Purpose Flour – This recipe was tested using regular all-purpose flour and works beautifully this way. Baking Powder – This is our leavener, and helps the batter rise as it cooks to create the perfect muffin texture. Salt – A bit of salt helps balance out the sweet flavors. Granulated Sugar – Sweetness comes from sugar; just a half cup because we don’t want to overpower the flavor of the cherries. Vegetable Oil – This adds moisture to the batter and keeps things from drying out. Milk – Any type of milk will work here. Milk loosens up the batter and aids in texture. Egg – Just one large egg is needed for the whole batch. Almond Extract – There is just something about the combination of almond and cherry that makes it a perfect flavor combination. You can use vanilla if you prefer though. Fresh Cherries – Remove the pits from the cherries and leave them whole. If you need to cut them to get the pits out, that is ok, but I love the look and texture of big juicy cherries inside these muffins.
How Do I Remove Pits from Cherries?
Pitting cherries is not an easy job, but it’s totally worth it. No matter what, you’ll probably need to do one cherry at a time. If you like to bake with cherries, I suggest using a cherry pitter tool. This tool takes each cherry and pushes the pit out of the center leaving a small hole, and a whole cherry. Without a cherry pitter, you can just carefully cut each cherry in half and then remove the pit with your fingers.
How to Make Cherry Muffins
Before you do anything, get your oven ready to bake by preheating it to 390°F/200°C.
Frequently Asked Cherry Muffin Recipe Questions
Happy Baking! I know you’re going to love this cherry muffin recipe as much as I do. Pin this to save for later or to share with others. © Little Sunny Kitchen
