Cherry season always feels like it comes and goes in a blink up here, and I barely have time to go through a bag of them before they’re done for the year. It always leaves me longing to make more cherry-based recipes, but there’s never enough fruit to go around.
This year, about all I had time for (other than just eating big bowls of cherries, which is delicious and I highly recommend it) were these muffins. But what muffins they are!
Think about what you want out of a muffin. A soft, cake-like interior, a little denser than a cupcake, with that moist crumble. A nice distribution of chopped up bits of fruit and chunks of chocolate. Easy removal from the muffin cup. A nice, small batch you can make and enjoy before they go stale or bad. This recipe has it all!
Okay, so they’re not groundbreaking or earth-shattering or the best muffins you’ve ever tasted. They are, however, solidly good muffins that incorporate cherries and chocolate without being over-sweet.
I recommend using sweet cherries (tart cherries are a whole different kind of fruit) but whether you use Michigan cherries, Rainier cherries, or whatever local variety you have is up to you. You can also use any gadget you want to pit them. I just got a handheld pitter that works like a hole punch and it works fine, even if it’s a little messy. That’s half the fun, anyway.
Want to make the for yourself? I hope so, because otherwise what did I write this recipe for?
Cherry Chocolate Chunk Muffins
Equipment
- Muffin Tin
- Muffin Cups
- Mixing Bowl
- Rubber Spatula
Ingredients
- 1½ Cups Flour
- ¾ Cup White Sugar
- 2 Tsp Baking Powder
- ⅓ Cup Vegetable Oil
- 1 Egg
- ⅓ Cup Milk Plus a bit more if necessary.
- 1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
- ½ Cup Cherries Pitted and chopped.
- ½ Cup Chocolate Chunks
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400℉ and put a muffin cup in each section of the muffin tin.
- Whisk together the flour, sugar, and baking powder. Make a well in the center of it and set it aside.
- In a 2-cup measuring cup, add the oil, egg and vanilla. Add milk to it until it reaches the 1 cup line, however much that takes (around a third to half a cup.)
- Mix the wet ingredients in the cup, then mix that into the dry ingredients, stirring until it's just combined. Fold in the cherries and chocolate chips, but try not to over-mix the batter.
- Spoon the batter evenly into the muffin cups, aiming for about half full.
- Bake for 17 minutes, or until they're turning golden and the center is done as tested with a toothpick.