Cherry Muffins

These simple muffins are great for an elegant brunch or to eat as a weekday breakfast!

The earliest written evidence about cherries was during 300 BCE, but archaeologists have discovered fossilized cherry pits from prehistoric times. Washington state grows about 62% of the United States’ sweet cherries. With California and Oregon, the three states together grow an estimated 94% of the United States sweet cherries. While Michigan grows more than half of the United States tart cherries. Tart cherries are mostly used for cooking and baking.

One of the best parts California is the produce. They sell beautiful varieties of fresh cherries at farmer’s markets and at farmer stands along the side of the road. My husband loves getting baskets of cherries from the stands. He will usually eat only half and I then I find ways to cook or bake with the cherries afterwards. Then I came up with the idea to make cherry muffins. I hope you like this recipe!

Cherry Muffins Recipe

Yields 12 muffins

Prep Time 10 minutes

Bake Time 25 – 30 minutes

Inactive Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup milk

1 cup pitted cherries, fresh or frozen

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 F.

Grease and flour a muffin tin or line with paper liners.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth.

Add the eggs and vanilla to mixture and stir.

Add baking soda and salt to the bowl.

Stir in half of the flour and half of the milk into the bowl.

Repeat with other half of the flour and the milk.

Gently fold in the cherries.

Pour batter into 12 muffin cups.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes.

Make sure not to over mix the batter or else the muffins will be too dense.

Variation: Use 1/2 cup of blueberries with 1/2 cup of cherries to make Blueberry Cherry Muffins!

DID YOU MAKE THIS DISH?

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