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
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.
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 🙂