Cherry Muffins with Almonds

Fluffy Cherry Muffins with Almonds are an easy bakery-worthy sweet treat that will perk up your morning!

These beautiful muffins are loaded with juicy cherries because everyone loves getting a little cherry in every bite. Almonds and cherries are a well-known match and these delicious cherry almond muffins prove it!

We added a bit of almond extract to the muffin batter and some slivered toasted almonds to the top for a perfect delicious pairing of flavors. The muffins will have you longing for a cherry tree in your backyard.

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Ingredients for Cherry Almond Muffin

The exact ingredients and directions are at the bottom of this post in the printable recipe card.

• Butter – we use unsalted, you can use salted and omit the added salt in the ingredient list
• Sugar – both regular sugar and an optional sprinkling of demerara sugar on the top
• Almond Extract and Slivered Almonds – the extract can be swapped for vanilla and chopped almonds can stand in for slivered
• Eggs – 2 eggs are our binder
• Flour – all-purpose flour works best
• Baking Powder – this is what gives our muffin a tall rise
• Salt – a little bit to balance the sweet flavors
• Cardamom – this is optional, but recommended if you have it on hand
• Whole Milk – or sub in buttermilk for a little tang
• Cherries – we use frozen dark sweet cherries but tart cherries or sour cherries are a delicious option, as well as fresh cherries (fresh cherry season is May-August in the U.S.)

Also needed:

• Muffin Tins, Muffin Cups, or Muffin Pan – we used a standard 12-cup muffin tin
• Muffin Liners – optional but paper liners will make clean up a breeze

How to make Cherry Muffins:

PREP:

• Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Line your muffin tins with liners or generously grease each muffin cavity.
• Lightly toast the almond slivers (or chopped almonds) in a dry skillet until just fragrant and set aside to cool.
• Cherries: if using frozen, thaw, drain, and roughly chop into quarters. If using fresh, remove stem and pit, and chop (see below for more info on fresh vs. frozen cherries)
• In a large bowl cream the room temperature butter and sugar until light and fluffy, which will take 3-5 minutes (Photo # 1)
• Beat in the almond extract, and add the eggs one at a time. Lightly mix until blended (Photo # 2)

• In a separate bowl sift all the dry ingredients together – flour, baking powder, salt, and cardamom
• Add 1/3 of the flour mixture into the butter mixture along with 1/3 of the milk.
• Blend gently and continue alternately adding all the milk and flour until all is added and evenly combined
• Do not over-mix the muffin batter – this is important for creating a light fluffy muffin (which we all love!). The batter will be thick
• Gently fold in the chopped cherries and lightly blend by hand

BAKE:

• Spoon the batter evenly into the muffin tins until it reaches almost the top of the liners
• Sprinkle a little demerara sugar and slivered toasted almonds on tops of the muffins
• Bake for about 22-25 minutes or until muffins are springy when touched
• Let cool in pan for 5 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling

The secret to great muffins

We’ve all had over-baked dry muffins. No thanks! There are a few simple tricks to making moist muffins that turn out delicious, light, and fluffy! These tips are also recommended when making pancakes, waffles, and quick breads.

• Start with room temperature ingredients – butter, eggs, milk
• Mix wet ingredients and dry ingredients in separate bowls before combining
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and DO NOT over mix – this is critical because you do not want to overwork the gluten that’s in the flour
• Add your fruit last and gently fold it in by hand so that everything is just combined
• Line your muffin tins – it really makes everything easier! We love to use a variety of interesting muffin liners and one of our favorites are the parchment tulip liners like the ones in our photos
• Fill the liners evenly – we use an ice cream scoop to make it easier
• Don’t overfill the liners or the muffins won’t rise properly
• Bake immediately

Are Fresh or Frozen Cherries better?

• The simple answer is – both are good!
• If fresh cherries aren’t available in the grocery stores or at farmers markets (or aren’t in season) then choose a quality bag of frozen fruit.

• We used frozen, thawed, organic cherries for this cherry muffin recipe. We roughly cut the pieces into quarters.

• Most fruit is flash-frozen right after being picked to maintain peak freshness. In some cases, frozen fruit is preferred over the fresh variety because it is frozen immediately upon picking.
• If you are trying to save a little time frozen is a great option for cherries because they are already pitted. If you are using fresh then a cherry pitter is a great time saver.
• We’ve used frozen and fresh blueberries in our Blueberry Lemon Scones with equal success, and this is true for most scone or muffin recipes.

Chefs Pro Tip

• If using frozen cherries be sure to thaw them in a strainer over a bowl to capture the amazing cherry juice!
• Save the fruit juice for another use because it is truly delicious. Use the juice in mixed drinks, as part of a vinaigrette, or as flavoring added to cakes and other sweets.

How do you know when muffins are done baking?

• Every oven cooks a little differently so the best and easiest test to determine if muffins are ready is to insert a toothpick into the center of one of the muffins. If it comes out clean or with a few small crumbs clinging to the toothpick then the muffins are done.
• If you have an instant-read thermometer the internal temperature of baked muffins should be 200-205˚F.

How to store Cherry Almond Muffins:

• Let cool completely
• Line an airtight container with paper towels (this will help absorb any moisture), add muffins, and seal the container
• Store at room temperature for up to 4 days
• Do not refrigerate muffins – this will dry them out quickly
• You can easily freeze muffins. Store in a resealable freezer bag or container for up to 3 months. Let them come to room temperature before eating.
• These storage tips also work well with quick breads such as our Buttermilk Banana Bread, Easy Zucchini Bread, Pumpkin Bread, and Blueberry Apple Bread

Substitution ideas and tips:

• Any berry or stone fruit works well in place of cherries – try blueberries or cranberries
• Substitute buttermilk for whole milk for a nice tangy upgrade
• Try adding pecans instead of slivered almonds, or use 2 Tablespoons of chopped almonds to the muffins
• Vanilla Extract works in place of almond extract if needed. Have you tried our 2-ingredient easy homemade Vanilla Extract yet?
• Make 6 Jumbo Muffins or 24 Mini Muffins with this recipe
• Toss in some mini chocolate chips or chunks to make Chocolate Cherry Muffins. Cherries and chocolate are a naturally delicious pairing
• We made this successfully with 1:1 Gluten-Free baking flour (do not use all-purpose gluten-free flour). No other substitutions are needed.
• Sprinkle some Demerara sugar on top of the muffins before baking for an extra sparkly top. Demerara sugar is a large granule sugar that provides a nice, crunchy texture in baked goods.