Cherry Muffins - Little Sunny Kitchen

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 35

▢ 1 ½ cups (180 g) all purpose flour
▢ 2 teaspoons (8 g) baking powder
▢ ½ teaspoon (3 g) salt
▢ ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
▢ ⅓ cup (80 ml) vegetable oil
▢ ⅓ cup (80 ml) milk
▢ 1 large egg at room temperature
▢ ¼ teaspoon almond extract can substitute with pure vanilla extract, but almond extract is highly recommended for its pairing with cherries
▢ 1 ¼ cup (190 g) fresh cherries pitted and left whole

Preheat the oven to 390°F (200°C). Line a 12-cup muffin pan with 8 paper liners or lightly grease 8 cups.
In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar, vegetable oil, milk, egg, and almond extract until well combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk just until combined. Do not overmix.
Gently fold in the cherries. The batter will be thick to help suspend the cherries throughout the muffins.
Divide the batter evenly between the 8 prepared muffin cups, filling each about ¾ full.
Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before serving.

Fresh cherries are best, but you can use frozen cherries. If using frozen, do not thaw before folding into the batter.
Be sure to pit the cherries completely to avoid biting into a pit.
Almond extract complements the cherry flavor beautifully, but if unavailable, pure vanilla extract is a fine substitute.
The batter is quite thick which is great as the cherries won’t sink to the bottom and you don’t need to flour the cherries.
This recipe was tested using sweet cherries. If using sour cherries, add an extra ¼ cup of sugar.