Easy Cherry Muffins

Looking for some treat that you can quickly prepare for breakfast or snack? These Easy Cherry Muffins will tick all the boxes for you -- delicious, filling, and great with coffee or tea.  You will surely reach for a second one!

We all keep our own set of muffin recipes, depending on the type of fruit that we would have with it.  

This recipe is what I generally use for 'tangy' stone fruits - the amount of sugar balances the overall flavor of the fruit without being overly sweet.

Ingredients

1. Flour - all-purpose flour is all you need for these cherry muffins.
2. Almond extract 
3. Milk - regular full-cream milk
4. Sugar
5. Lemon
6. Salt
7. Ricotta - make sure you've properly drained the liquid from it.
8. Butter - I use unsalted butter in this recipe, so you might need to use less salt if you are using salted butter.
9. Eggs - make sure they are in room temperature.
10. Baking soda
11. Baking powder
12. Cherries - you can use fresh or frozen cherries.  But if you are using frozen ones, make sure you thaw them first, then you cut them in half before adding to the batter.

Preparation

Start by preheating your oven to 180°C (350°F), greasing the muffin tins with butter, and setting it aside.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium-sized bowl (photo 1).

In a large mixing bowl, combine and use a hand mixer to mix sugar and eggs.  Add ricotta and continue mixing.

Add melted butter, lemon juice, and lemon zest, then mix again.

Add the sifted dry ingredients and milk in batches, mixing between each addition (photo 2).

Add the cherries and mix gently, just enough to combine them with the batter (photo 3).

Spoon some of the muffin batter into the tins, making sure not to fill each one to the rim.

Place a half cherry on top of each tin (photo 4).

Place tins in the middle of the oven for thirty to thirty-five minutes, or until the center is no longer wet when you insert a toothpick.

Take muffins out of the oven and set aside to cool down.

Serve these cherry muffins, with some sprinkled powdered sugar, if preferred.

Helpful tips

• Skip the salt if you are using salted butter.

• A metal whisk and a spatula (or wooden spoon) can be used if you don't have a hand mixer or a stand mixer.

• Make sure the butter is at room temperature.

• You can replace the almond extract with vanilla extract if that's what you preferred.

IF YOU WANT MORE SNACK OR DESSERT RECIPES, THEN YOU MIGHT LIKE THESE POSTS:

• Easy Orange Pound Cake
• Easy Apple Turnovers with Puff Pastry
• Quick and Easy Lemon Muffins
• Easy Cinnamon Muffins
• Chocolate and Beetroot Brownies

PERHAPS SOME HEALTHY SMOOTHIE FOR MID-AFTERNOON SNACK? MIXED BERRY SMOOTHIE IS WHAT YOU NEED!

OR IF YOU WANT MORE IDEAS FOR SUMMER, THEN HEAD STRAIGHT TO MY SUMMER COLLECTION!

Happy cooking!