easy/ Fruit Desserts/ Muffins & Quick Breads/ no mixer/ quick

Almond Cherry Muffins

July 5, 2014

These moist muffins are filled with sweet cherries and have a lovely almond scent.

Cherry Almond Muffins (3)

Each time one of my beloved fruits are in season (raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, or cherries), I buy stocks of them and make our all-time family favorite desserts. The last time strawberries were in season, it ended before I knew it. By the time I went to the grocery store to buy some, the worker told me, “No, miss, no more strawberries.” I was not pleased.

So for this cherry season, I was prepared. Every corner in my fridge is filled with cherry boxes, attached with a small note: “Do not touch!”

With this excess of deep red deliciousness, and since I love muffins so much, today’s recipe was an easy choice.

These muffins are fluffy and moist with a bread-like texture. They are amazing with fresh cherries, but you can definitely replace them with one cup of dried ones. I use yogurt as the liquid in this recipe, which makes the muffins moist and gives them a tangy yet subtle taste. I also use oil instead of butter to keep the muffins fluffy and because these muffins are already so flavorful that butter isn’t necessary for extra taste. You can, of course, use melted butter (75 grams) if you prefer, they’ll still be just as tasty.

The muffins are made using the muffin method, which means mixing dry ingredients in one bowl and wet ingredients in another bowl, then combining the two into one lumpy butter. Be careful not to over mix the batter as that will make your muffins tough.

Once you cut the cherries, use them right away to prevent staining the batter. If they’re too juicy, soak up the excess liquid with a towel. You can also toss the cherries in a little sugar or flour – just enough to coat – to prevent them from bleeding. Once added to the batter, fold gently and as little as possible. Alternatively, you can use frozen cherries for this recipe, and if you do, do not thaw them before adding; simply mix them in frozen.

Cherry Almond Muffins (4)

Now, about the almond extract – I know not all of you have this ingredient at home, and although this is what gives these baked goods their heavenly flavor, you can leave it out and enjoy amazing cherry muffins instead. The almond is just a bonus, and while I prefer it, these muffins are delicious as-is. I also have a recipe for an almond cherry cake (that doesn’t call for almond extract) which is another family favorite.

You can read more about muffin baking here.

4.84 from 6 votes
Almond Cherry Muffins
YIELD: 5 -6 jumbo-size muffins or 12 standard-size muffins
 
These moist muffins are filled with sweet cherries and have a lovely almond scent.

Ingredients
  • 1 3/4 cups (250 grams/8.8 ounces) all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 3/4 cup (150 grams/5.3 ounces) granulated sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 large egg , slightly beaten
  • 1 cup yogurt
  • 1/3 cup canola oil (or vegetable, safflower)
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract*
  • 1 1/2 cups (300 grams/11 ounces) cherries, halved and pitted**
  • 1/2 cup slivered or sliced almonds (better if toasted), plus extra (not toasted) to sprinkle on top
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425F/220C. Grease 12 muffin cups or line with muffin liners.

  2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add sugar and mix to combine.
  3. In a medium bowl, mix egg with yogurt, oil, vanilla, and almond extract. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula just until combined. Do not over mix. The batter should be quite thick and lumpy. Fold in almonds and cherries gently to prevent staining.
  4. Divide the mixture between the muffin cups, filling almost fully to the top. Sprinkle with sliced almonds if desired. Bake for 3 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 375F/190C. Continue to bake for an additional 12-17 minutes for standard muffins, or an additional 22-27 minutes for jumbo muffins. They are ready when a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. If they start to brown too much, cover them loosely with aluminum foil. Cool for 10 minutes, then move to a wire rack to cool completely.
  5. Muffins are best the same day they are made, but can be kept at room temperature in an airtight container for an additional 1-2 days. Muffins can also be frozen for up to 2 months.
Recipe Notes

*If you don’t have almond extract, you can leave it out and have delicious cherry muffins instead.
**Refer to the above post for more information about frozen and dried cherries, and how to prevent cherries form bleeding into the batter.

You Might Also Like

38 Comments

  • Reply
    Anne
    July 5, 2014 at 8:49 pm

    Oh my goodness these look absolutely amazing!!!! I bet they taste just as good as they look! I love it when cherry season comes… 🙂

  • Reply
    dina
    July 6, 2014 at 12:48 am

    these look like yummy breakfast!

  • Reply
    Reiko
    July 6, 2014 at 1:09 am

    These muffins look and sound delicious!! I LOVE the cherry and almond combo. The pictures are beautiful, too.

    • Reply
      Shiran
      July 6, 2014 at 8:39 am

      Thank you Reiko!

  • Reply
    Crystal | Apples & Sparkle
    July 6, 2014 at 7:22 am

    These are really lovely muffins. I love the fresh cherries in here. : )

    • Reply
      Shiran
      July 6, 2014 at 8:39 am

      Thanks Crystal 🙂

  • Reply
    Julie @ Lovely Little Kitchen
    July 6, 2014 at 2:13 pm

    I love anything with almond flavor, and these look completely delicious! Pinning to try soon!

    • Reply
      Shiran
      July 6, 2014 at 6:59 pm

      Me too! Thanks Julie 🙂

  • Reply
    Liza
    August 24, 2014 at 4:49 pm

    Dear Shiran, just found your blog- so many delicious things to try! Thank you for wonderful blog! Love your cherry muffin recipe- next on my list to make  May I please ask if you have more muffins, quick breads and\or blondies that use oil as fat ingredient? My family is on low fat diet for health reasons and as much as we like butter and cream taste wise I am on a look out for the oil based recipes.

    • Reply
      Shiran
      August 24, 2014 at 7:46 pm

      Hi Liza! That’s so sweet of you, thank you! I also like to use oil in my muffin recipes. I have this delicious applesauce bread recipe that I think will be perfect for your diet. There is also a recipe for bakery style muffins that uses oil as the fat, and is versatile. In some of my muffin and bread recipes you can easily substitute the melted butter with oil as well, because I usually don’t use a lot of fat in them. You can view all the recipes in the recipe list. Thanks again 🙂

      • Reply
        Liza
        August 24, 2014 at 9:42 pm

        Thank you! 🙂

  • Reply
    Sandee
    January 3, 2016 at 1:00 pm

    My sister-in-law, Elika, made these for a recent family get together. The muffins are truly scrumptious! Thank you for sharing this recipe. Also, thanks to Elika for making these little wonders of tastiness and sharing the recipe with me!

    • Reply
      Shiran
      January 4, 2016 at 10:06 am

      My family also LOVE these muffins! Thank you so much for your comment, and thanks to Elika for sharing the recipe 🙂

  • Reply
    Kena
    June 4, 2016 at 2:36 pm

    What is the portions of yogurt if I use Greek?

    • Reply
      Shiran
      June 5, 2016 at 6:02 am

      Hi Kena, use the same amount – 1 cup.

  • Reply
    Sarah
    August 29, 2016 at 6:45 pm

    Hi Shiran, these muffins are fantastic–so light and flavorful! We like them so much at our house that I wrote about them on my own food blog (giving you recipe credit, of course!): http://alovelettertofood.com/2016/08/cherry-almond-muffins/ Thanks so much for a great recipe.

    • Reply
      Shiran
      August 31, 2016 at 5:51 am

      Thank you Sarah! I’m so glad you like them 🙂

  • Reply
    Pegi Nutter
    July 1, 2018 at 9:48 am

    I made these as mini loaves and they turned out great!

  • Reply
    Nomie
    September 12, 2018 at 2:46 pm

    Ummmmm, how many ml or grams is a cup of yoghurt?

    • Reply
      Shiran
      September 17, 2018 at 2:36 am

      1 cup equals 240 ml.

  • Reply
    Jenny
    January 19, 2019 at 6:43 pm

    Made using glace cherries. These tasted amazing fresh from the oven. However I found that they dried out pretty badly the next morning after being in tupperware at room temperature so will try adding more oil next time so hopefully will be able to enjoy them for longer.

  • Reply
    Heather
    March 17, 2019 at 11:35 pm

    Absolutely amazingly delicious muffins. The pure almond extract puts them over the top! Definitely a five star keeper.

  • Reply
    Mac
    March 23, 2019 at 5:10 pm

    For the flour: how about swapping in half (of more) almond flour for the AP?

    • Reply
      Shiran
      March 26, 2019 at 5:20 am

      It’s possible, but I recommend swapping 1/4 of the amount first and see if you like the result.

  • Reply
    Kim
    October 20, 2019 at 7:18 pm

    I just made these, and they are so delicious! Light and moist – thanks for the recipe! I used sour cherries, my favourite.

  • Reply
    KARishma
    May 31, 2020 at 4:06 pm

    Hey! What kind of yogurt? Greek, flavoured, or just regular 2% plain thanks

    • Reply
      Shiran
      June 1, 2020 at 7:54 am

      I use regular/plain yogurt.

  • Reply
    Jacki O.
    June 14, 2020 at 5:09 pm

    These sound delightful. Has anyone swapped sour cream for yogurt? Thoughts? Thanks!

    • Reply
      Shiran
      June 15, 2020 at 2:14 am

      You can use sour cream instead 🙂

  • Reply
    Sahar
    June 30, 2020 at 10:28 am

    I haven’t soda😕 can i use backing powder instead?

  • Reply
    Liz
    February 27, 2021 at 11:27 pm

    Can you use frozen cherries

    • Reply
      Shiran
      February 28, 2021 at 5:44 am

      Hi Liz, yes you can, just don’t thaw them first.

  • Reply
    Lou
    November 24, 2021 at 4:34 pm

    This looks delicious. I would like to try it with dried cherries. Would I use the same amount ?

    • Reply
      Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet.
      November 24, 2021 at 10:56 pm

      Hey Lou! I would try 1/2-3/4 cup of dried cherries first. If you think the batter looks scarce, feel free to add some more 🙂

  • Reply
    Marilyn
    December 12, 2022 at 6:52 pm

    I used sour cream and also soaked dried cherries in orange brandy. Super good! Thanks

    • Reply
      Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet.
      December 13, 2022 at 1:55 am

      That sounds delicious, Marilyn!

  • Reply
    Kim
    August 15, 2023 at 3:08 pm

    GLUTEN-FREE: yummy muffins. Love that they are made with ingredients found in your pantry. For cherries, I use the Target brand dried cherries, added a little moisture, like water and almond, microwave for 40 seconds and let it sit while I made my muffins. This way the dried cherries get moist and absorb the flavors.

    For gluten-free there’s always three things you need to do: 1. Use a 1+1 gluten-free flour. 2. Increase the baking soda and baking powder by 25%. 3. Make the muffins and put them in the tin, have them rest fort 15 to 20 minutes and then put on the oven. The gluten-free flour needs time to rest & raise. This prevents the dense muffins. I’m saving this recipe!

    • Reply
      Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet.
      August 16, 2023 at 10:28 am

      Thank you, Kim!

    Leave a Reply

    Recipe Rating