Homemade Cherry Muffins made with fresh cherries. Fresh bing cherries, or other sweet cherries are the star of these muffins.
These delicious muffins are perfect for breakfast, brunch and even dessert!
Why make these muffins
It's cherry season here and I'm busy with everything cherries. These muffins are made with sweet cherries, not tart cherries.
We have two cherry trees; a Bing cherry tree and a tart or sour pie cherry tree. We planted both trees 14 years ago and while they still aren't what I would call mature trees, they are producing a lot of fruit.
I'm always looking for new ways to use whatever we are harvesting. These cherry muffins are my newest way to use our cherries.
I typically make these using our fresh cherries, but you can also use frozen cherries. That means you can enjoy these tasty muffins all year long!
Key ingredients
- Cherries - fresh sweet cherries or frozen cherries
- Yogurt - use plain Greek yogurt. Can substitute sour cream.
- Flour - all-purpose flour
- Vanilla or almond extract
- Milk
Step by step directions
- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt together
- In a separate bowl, combine egg, yogurt, oil and milk
- Add flour mixture to wet ingredients
- Fold just until mixed
- Add chopped cherries
- Scoop batter into greased muffins tins
- Bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 15-18 minutes
- Allow muffins to cool for 3-5 minutes while in muffin tin
- Remove and continue cooling on a baking rack
Testing muffins to see if they are done
- First, look at your muffin. Is it a nice golden brown color across the top?
- Next, use a toothpick and insert it in the center. It should come out with just a few crumbs and not gummy.
To use frozen cherries
- Allow cherries to partially thaw
- Chop into small pieces
- Add to muffin batter while partially thawed
- Increase baking time by 3-5 minutes
Muffin making tips
- Use fresh baking powder - baking powder can lose its effectiveness and if old, your muffins might not rise properly.
- Fully preheat your oven - I use a separate oven thermometer in my oven to make certain my oven has reached the proper temperature. My preheat light often turns off before the oven has reached full temperature so I always give it extra time.
- Do not overmix the batter. Just stir until everything is mixed in. Over-mixing can cause tough muffins.
- Use an ice cream scoop for even-sized muffins. Plus it makes putting the batter in the tins easy peasy!
Recipe Faqs
You can use paper liners if you'd like. I tend to make my muffins without the liners. It's really a personal choice. If you don't use the liners, just be certain to grease your tins before adding batter.
When using paper liners, allow muffins to fully cool before removing the liner. Otherwise, the paper liner tends to stick to the muffins.
Once the muffins are fully cooled, store in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.
Yes, these muffins can be frozen. Allow the muffins to fully cool and then place in a single layer in a freezer container or bag. For best results, use within one month.
More recipes with cherries
More muffin recipes
If you love making muffins, check out these recipes:
- Oatmeal Banana Muffins
- Coffee Cake Muffins
- Blueberry Muffins
- Raspberry Muffins
- Poppy Seed Muffins
- Zucchini Muffins
- Blackberry Muffins
- Triple Berry Muffins
- Huckleberry Muffins
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Check out all my muffin recipes!
Cherry Muffins
Equipment
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Cherry Pitter
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup Greek yogurt (plain)
- ½ cup oil (canola or vegetable)
- ½ cup milk
- ½ teaspoon almond extract (or vanilla extract)
- 1 ½ cups sweet cherries (pitted and chopped)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F
- Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a bowl.1 ¾ cups flour, ½ cup granulated sugar, 1 Tablespoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon salt
- In a separate bowl, combine egg, yogurt, oil, milk and almond extract1 egg, ¾ cup Greek yogurt, ½ cup oil, ½ cup milk, ½ teaspoon almond extract
- Add flour mixture to liquid mixture. Mix to combine.
- Fold in cherries.1 ½ cups sweet cherries
- Scoop batter into greased muffin tins.
- Bake in a preheated 400° oven for 15-18 minutes.
- Cool in pan for 5 minutes and then remove from pan and continue cooling on a baking rack.
Notes
- Allow cherries to partially thaw
- Chop into small pieces
- Add to muffin batter while partially thawed
- Increase baking time by 3-5 minutes
- Use fresh baking powder - baking powder can lose its effectiveness and if old, your muffins might not rise properly.
- Fully preheat your oven - I use a separate oven thermometer in my oven to make certain my oven has reached the proper temperature. My preheat light often turns off before the oven has reached full temperature so I always give it extra time.
- Do not overmix batter. Just stir until everything is mixed in. Over mixing can cause tough muffins.
- Use an ice cream scoop for even sized muffins. Plus it makes putting the batter in the tins easy peasy!
Nutritional Disclaimer:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Sarah says
Could I substitute maple syrup for the sugar?
If so, how much?
Kathy says
Hi Sarah,
I have not used maple syrup in muffins before. However, I did a quick search and found a site called maple syrup world. They say, "When it comes to baking, that same amount is used but also be sure to reduce the amount of overall liquid in the recipe by about three tablespoons for each cup of maple syrup substituted." So I would use ½ cup of maple syrup and reduce the amount of milk by 1 ½ tablespoons. Let me know how they turn out.
Kelly says
These sound so yummy! I might toss in some mini choc chips with the cherries, because, why not ?!
Kathy says
Cherries and chocolate are a perfect match! Enjoy!!! 🙂
Betsi says
Delicious! I used canned cherries because I had them. Rinsed and drained them well. Subbed sour cream for yogurt. Again, because that’s what I had. Sprinkled turbinado sugar on top before baking. 12 Perfect muffins.
Kathy says
Hi Betsi,
Thanks so much! I love your resourcefulness! Glad you enjoyed the muffins! 🙂
Kathy
Melanie says
I have some frozen cherries I need to use. If I defrost them and make sure they are well-drained and dried off could I use those?
Thank
Kathy says
Hi Melanie,
I think it should work just fine!
Enjoy,
Kathy
Cindy says
Which should I do first-- measure the whole cherries or chop before measuring?
Kathy says
Hi Cindy,
You want 1 1/2 cups of chopped cherries.
Enjoy! 🙂
Joyce says
Can I swap the cherries out with other fruit like blueberries or peaches? I like that this muffin base has Greek yogurt and would like to keep that in. Any advice would be helpful.
Kathy says
Hi Joyce,
You can swap out the cherries, but try to find something similar in moisture content. I think blueberries would be fine, but peaches may be too wet for this batter.
Let me know how they turn out!
Kathy 🙂
Sharon Miller says
Can I use canned cherries in this recipe?
Kathy says
Hi Sharon,
I have not made these with canned cherries. However, I believe that if you are using canned cherries packed in a juice and you drain the juice all the way, they should work fine. I would also pat the cherries with a paper towel to help remove any excess liquid. Let me know how they turn out!
Kathy 🙂
Maylyn says
I just baked this today and it was delicious and so soft.. i thought it will be hard but when i ate it.. it was so soft.. i made a normal size muffin and minis for my one year old son.. im sure he’ll love it too.. thanks for the recipe.. definitely make this again.
Kathy says
I hope your little one loves them too! Great idea to make them as mini muffins too!
Tamara R says
Could you use sour cherries and maybe increase the sugar?
Kathy says
Hi Tamara,
You could use sour cherries in these muffins. If you increase the sugar, only increase by 1/4 cup. If you like the tartness of the cherries, they'd be delicious even without increasing the sugar. Let me know how they turn out!
Happy Baking!!!
Cheryl says
Yummy! I love muffins. They're so easy to freeze and last longer that way. We had no cherries this year. Well, practically none out of 4 trees. The few that appeared the birds got to them before us. Sometimes there's bad years. I'd think this muffin recipe would take frozen cherries quite nicely.
Kathy says
Frozen cherries should work perfectly in these muffins! We often have off years on our trees too. Thanks goodness for the freezer and storing them from the previous year!
2pots2cook says
Perfect to pack for my office to have with coffee. Thank you so much !
Kathy says
I love taking homemade treats into work - sometimes I even share them! 🙂
Valentina says
I love baking with fresh summer fruit and these perfectly golden muffins look amazing. Lucky you to have two cherry trees! Not only for the tasty fruit, but for the pretty spring blossoms. 🙂 ~Valentina
Kathy says
I do love having the trees and harvesting what they produce.
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
Nothing better during the summer than a fruit-filled muffin Kathy! I've been making them nonstop alll summer long. Will add these to my list!
Alexandra @ It's Not Complicated Recipes says
I had some cherries left over at Christmas time, when they were at their best here in Australia - I froze them, so I will definitely make these muffins! Perfect!
annie@ciaochowbambina says
I love these!! My mouth is watering just thinking about them! Would love one slathered in butter with my morning coffee!!
David @ Spiced says
14 years, eh? We had our cherry tree at the old house for about 8 years, and it was just starting to produce a couple cherries each summer. The squirrels ate them long before we could, though. In fact, I think that's the only thing I miss about our old house...the fruit trees and my blackberry thicket. I think the new owners chopped it all down, too. 🙁 Oh well, I guess I'll just have to start again...or just send you my address! Haha. These muffins sound delicious!
Kathy says
We started with just small whips of trees. You can purchase more mature ones and then not have to wait quite as long.