Cherry Muffins

Have you ever had a cherry muffin? I like them better than blueberry muffins. They are made with sour cherries, tangy and fruity. Click to enlarge.

I picked sour cherries in June as I usually do. They are my favorite fruit to pick for their sheer beauty. Don't they look like candy?

Here's a tree full of them just waiting to be picked and made into something delicious. Sour cherries are also called pie cherries and, indeed, they make great pies.

Every year I preserve cherry pie filling and cherry jam, which are both a bit of work. But there is something much easier to make from cherries...

Cherry muffins!  Here's how:

Cherry Muffins

Dry Ingredients:               

 1 1/2 cup flour                  

1/2 white sugar                   

3/4 tsp salt                         

1 tsp baking powder            

1/2 tsp baking soda

 Wet Ingredients:

  1 egg 

 1/2 cup milk

 1/4 cup corn oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

Plus: 

2 cups pitted sour cherries

a little brown sugar to sprinkle on top

Heat the oven to 400 F. Whisk the dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls until completely mixed. Rinse the cherries in water until it runs clear. Drain the cherries and add them to the bowl of dry ingredients, stirring to coat them. Add the wet ingredients and stir just enough to combine. Minimal mixing at this stage keeps the muffins light and fluffy. Scoop the batter into a muffin pan lined with cupcake papers. (I use an ice cream scoop for this and all the muffins come out the same size.) Sprinkle the top of each with a generous pinch of brown sugar. Bake for 20 minutes. Turn them out of the pan after 5 minutes to prevent sogginess and continue to cool on a rack -- except for the ones that you slather with butter and eat right away.

Enjoy!