Believe it or not, I’ve actually never baked anything with cherries before. Probably because I love them and will eat them all right after buying them. Rainier cherries are my absolute favorite and getting a paper bag full while walking through the produce and flower section at Pike Place is the best way to do it in my book. But, when you can’t do that, I suppose these cherry almond muffins are a great alternative.
As much as I love a good bread, muffins are so great because they are quick. You don’t have to wait for proofing, mix ins are easier, and let’s face it they are definitely closer to dessert than bread.
These cherry almond muffins are very flavorful. They have a great warm nutty flavor from the almond flour and almonds on top. The cherries add bursts of great color and flavor. Apparently I love making muffins with nuts and fruit, as evidenced by my Blueberry Walnut Muffins.
These come together pretty quickly, and you can totally leave off the streusel topping but I wouldn’t recommend it because it’s fantastic with it.
Cherry Almond Muffins Key Ingredients
- Cherries – I used fresh Bing cherries. Frozen probably could be used but I didn’t test them so I can’t guarantee. Any sweet cherry though would be great.
- Almond Flour – My first recipe test with this was with only almond flour. Those muffins did not hold together and always seemed under-baked. So I opted for half almond flour and half AP.
- Orange Zest – I loved the little bit of extra brightness zest added. I did also try using lemon zest, which could be swapped out if you don’t happen to have an orange.
Ingredients
- 120 g AP flour 1 cup
- 112 g Almond flour 1 cup
- 100 g Granulated sugar ½ cup
- 1 tbsp Baking powder
- ½ tsp Salt
- 2 Large Eggs room temperature
- ¼ cup Whole or 2% milk room temperature
- 2 tbsp Vegetable/Canola oil
- ¼ cup Unsalted butter melted
- 2 tsp Vanilla
- 1 Med Orange, zested
- 150 g Cherries, pitted & chopped
Streusel
- 100 g Brown sugar ½ cup
- ½ cup Sliced almonds
- 3 tbsp Unsalted butter melted
- 60 g AP Flour ½ cup
Instructions
- Line a baking tray with muffin liners or grease pan. Set aside
- Preheat oven to 400°F
- Prep the streusel. Mix together flour, almonds and brown sugar and then pour the melted butter over, mixing until you have a coarse mix.
- In a small bowl, whisk together AP flour, almond flour, salt and baking powder
- In a larger bowl, whisk together melted butter, oil and sugar.
- Add eggs in one at a time into the wet mix, incorporating completely.
- Add in milk, vanilla, and orange zest, mix together and then stir in cherries.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet, stirring in gently until just combined.
- Spoon batter into prepared pan, filling each liner about ¾ full. Spoon heaping spoonfuls of the streusel mix over the top of each muffin.
- Place the muffins in the oven and bake at 400°F for 5 minutes, then reduce to 350°F. Bake for about another 22 minutes, the tops of the muffins will be golden brown.
- When muffins are done, transfer to a wire rack for cooling and let cool slightly before enjoying. Store in an airtight container.
