Living in Traverse City, Michigan, I have come under the influence of cherries. Claiming the title, Cherry Capital, Traverse City is home to the Annual Cherry Festival, an event which draws tourists from all over the world, as well as the vast cherry orchards which inspire us locals to invent various uses for the famed fruit, using it for everything from the legendary pies to an additive for ground meat and all things in between.
So, it wasn't too strange when I decided to depart from a heavy dump-muffin recipe from a cereal box and venture into an ingredient closer to home.
Not at all dense, but very moist and cake-like with the deliciousness of sour cherries, the ones we generally use for the classic cherry pie, these muffins are a great start to the day and are equally as good as an afternoon pick-me-up with a cup of coffee.
Cherry Muffins
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup half-and-half
2 large eggs
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 stick butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1-15 oz can sour cherries, well drained.
Preheat the oven to 375° F.
Grease muffin tins or use paper liners.
Sift flour, baking powder and salt together in a large bowl and set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk half-and-half, eggs, sugar, butter and extract together.
With a fork, blend the wet ingredients into the flour mixture until just wet. Don't overmix. There should still be lumps and the batter should not be smooth.
Gently fold the cherries into the wet ingredients.
Spoon into the muffin tins and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the muffins comes out dry.
Cool for about 10 minutes in the tins before removing them to a rack to cool
Makes 12.
