Fresh Cherry Muffins

My friend Jessica gave me a big bag of delicious fresh cherries. I wasn't sure that we could eat them all while they were still fresh. So....I made thes wonderful muffins. I made several dozen and put most of them in freezer bags. They are so good. Now I can just take one or two out and defrost them in the microwave and have fresh cherries long after the season has past.

Fresh Cherry Muffins

6 TB of unsalted butter at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 tsp almond extract
2-1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 tsp baking soda
1 cup whole mile
3 ounces fresh bing cherries, pitted and roughly chopped
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1/4 cup sliced almonds, raw

Preheat the over to 375 degrees. Spray 2 muffin tins with nonstick spray or line with paper lines. Beat the butter, sugar,and salt until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the egg and almond extract. Beat to combine.

Whisk the flour, baking poweder and baking soda until combined. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in the bowl in two batches, alternating with the milk . Mix just until combined. Do not overmix.

Stir in the cherries and the toasted almonds. Use a small ice cream scoop to measure batter into the tins. Sprinkle the tops with the raw almonds. Bake until golden brown and a wooden skewer comes out clean --about 20-25 minutes.

Cool muffins in tins for 30 minutes on a cooling rack. Muffins will keep well up to 2 days or frozen up to 3 weeks.

TIP: to pit cherries, place them in a plastic bag and squeeze ou the pits. This makes the job less messy.

I didn't add the almonds because my kids don't care for them, but I'm sure they are a wonderful addition.




What a great way to enjoy this wonderful fruit past it's season...ENJOY!