These moist muffins are filled with fresh sweet cherries and have a lovely almond flavor.
Each time one of my beloved fruits are in season (raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, or cherries), I buy a stockpile 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.
How to make Cherry Almond Muffins
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 batter. Be careful not to over mix the batter as that will make your muffins tough.
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Adding cherries to the batter
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 and 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. If you do, do not thaw them before adding; simply mix them in frozen.
Almond Flavoring
Now, about the almond extract… I know not all of you have this ingredient at home. This is what gives these baked goods their heavenly flavor, but you can leave it out or add extra vanilla to 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. It has a very Scandinavian vibe and is another family favorite of ours.
Almond Cherry Muffins
These moist muffins are filled with sweet cherries and have a lovely almond flavor.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (100 grams) granulated or brown sugar
- 1 large egg, slightly beaten
- 1 cup (227g) yogurt
- ⅓ cup (80ml) canola oil (or vegetable, safflower)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract*
- 1 ½ cups (300 grams/11 ounces) cherries, halved and pitted**
- ½ cup slivered or sliced almonds (better if toasted), plus extra (not toasted) to sprinkle on top
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 425℉/220℃. Grease 12 muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
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In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add sugar and mix to combine.
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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.
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Divide the mixture between the muffin cups, filling almost fully to the top. Sprinkle with sliced almonds if desired.
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Bake for 3 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 375℉/190℃.
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.
Recipe Notes
*If you don’t have almond extract, you can leave it out and have delicious cherry muffins instead.
*Refer to the full post for more information about frozen and dried cherries, and how to prevent cherries form bleeding into the batter.
Muffins are best the same day they are made, but can be kept at room temperature in an airtight container for an additional 2 days. Muffins can also be frozen for up to 2 months.
Anne says
Oh my goodness these look absolutely amazing!!!! I bet they taste just as good as they look! I love it when cherry season comes… 🙂
dina says
these look like yummy breakfast!
Reiko says
These muffins look and sound delicious!! I LOVE the cherry and almond combo. The pictures are beautiful, too.
Shiran says
Thank you Reiko!
Crystal | Apples & Sparkle says
These are really lovely muffins. I love the fresh cherries in here. : )
Shiran says
Thanks Crystal 🙂
Julie @ Lovely Little Kitchen says
I love anything with almond flavor, and these look completely delicious! Pinning to try soon!
Shiran says
Me too! Thanks Julie 🙂
Liza says
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.
Shiran says
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 🙂
Liza says
Thank you! 🙂
Sandee says
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!
Shiran says
My family also LOVE these muffins! Thank you so much for your comment, and thanks to Elika for sharing the recipe 🙂
Kena says
What is the portions of yogurt if I use Greek?
Shiran says
Hi Kena, use the same amount – 1 cup.
Sarah says
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.
Shiran says
Thank you Sarah! I’m so glad you like them 🙂
Pegi Nutter says
I made these as mini loaves and they turned out great!
Nomie says
Ummmmm, how many ml or grams is a cup of yoghurt?
Shiran says
1 cup equals 240 ml.
Jenny says
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.
Heather says
Absolutely amazingly delicious muffins. The pure almond extract puts them over the top! Definitely a five star keeper.
Mac says
For the flour: how about swapping in half (of more) almond flour for the AP?
Shiran says
It’s possible, but I recommend swapping 1/4 of the amount first and see if you like the result.
Kim says
I just made these, and they are so delicious! Light and moist – thanks for the recipe! I used sour cherries, my favourite.
KARishma says
Hey! What kind of yogurt? Greek, flavoured, or just regular 2% plain thanks
Shiran says
I use regular/plain yogurt.
Jacki O. says
These sound delightful. Has anyone swapped sour cream for yogurt? Thoughts? Thanks!
Shiran says
You can use sour cream instead 🙂
Sahar says
I haven’t soda😕 can i use backing powder instead?
Liz says
Can you use frozen cherries
Shiran says
Hi Liz, yes you can, just don’t thaw them first.
Lou says
This looks delicious. I would like to try it with dried cherries. Would I use the same amount ?
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
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 🙂
Marilyn says
I used sour cream and also soaked dried cherries in orange brandy. Super good! Thanks
Talia @ Pretty. Simple. Sweet. says
That sounds delicious, Marilyn!
Kim says
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!
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Thank you, Kim!
Meg says
Thank you for the great tips on the GF variation, super helpful🙂
Lorrie G says
I am looking forward to making these muffins but I do have a question about the yogurt. What type of yogurt do you use? Flavored or unflavored? Greek, Icelandic, or Kefir?
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Lorrie, I used plain Greek, but Icelandic would work just as well – it’s a little bit thicker. I haven’t tried kefir in this recipe, but it would likely turn out just fine too. It may take slightly longer to bake due to the increased moisture.
Connie McKnight says
The consistency of the batter was so thick there was no way that cherries would fold into that. I may have used too thick of a yoghurt. So I had to spoon part of the batter (dough) in the cup, top with a few cherries, put another layer of batter in and then top with the rest of the cherries and almonds.
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Connie, the dough does end up being quite thick, but the cherries stay put that way. If the batter was thinner, all the cherries would sink to the bottom! I like your method of incorporation too 🙂
Tess Cooper says
Followed the recipe exactly as written but they’re dense and pretty tasteless.
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Tess! Did you measure your flour using a scale? If not, you may have added too much flour. I’ve made these a dozen times and while the batter is thick, they come out moist and delicious every time.
Meg says
Could you use frozen cherries if fresh ones aren’t available?
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Meg, yes! Just thaw them first and strain out any excess liquid. Thawed cherries will have more moisture.
JJ says
I used sour cherries and tried this recipe for the first time. It turned out perfectly. My ladies group loved them. Said it’s a keeper. I’m making them for Easter morning.
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Oh that’s lovely to hear! So glad you enjoyed this recipe.
Paula says
Do I need to reconstitute dried cherries? I’ve got a large bag and need to use them up. I also prefer tart cherries but we cannot get them in South Carolina.
Thanks.
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
Hi Paula! You could use them dried or slightly rehydrated. It just depends on the cherry texture you prefer. The batter is quite thick and would work well either way.