Easy Cherry Muffins Recipe (with Fresh or Frozen Cherries)

Our homemade Cherry Muffins Recipe is fast and easy to make and uses simple ingredients. Best of all you don’t have to wait for cherry season because we’ll show you how to make them with frozen or fresh cherries.

Simple step-by-step instructions with easy-to-find ingredients will make these muffins your go-to choice when you want fresh, hot, homemade muffins.

Growing up with a cherry tree, I’ve got to tell you there’s nothing like the taste of fresh sweet cherries, especially when they’re loaded into a soft and tender muffin. Bursting with flavor, our easy cherry muffins make great additions to any brunch table or a quick grab-and-go breakfast. They’re comfort food that reminds us of hugs, kitchen tables, cozy nights, and all warm fuzzy childhood memories.

If you want to try more cherry recipes, trust me, our Cherry Scones are soft and tender and so quick that you’ll be making them all the time, and we love our Cherry Fluff without condensed milk for family get-togethers.

Cherry Muffin Ingredients

Our easy muffin recipe is a quick bread meaning that it doesn’t require yeast or needing. Just like our cherry bread, this cherry muffin recipe uses simple ingredients and we’ll give you some variations you can use to make them your own.

Salted Butter – We use real butter but you can substitute it with a butter substitute. That may affect the flavor, however. You want the butter to be at room temperature meaning that when pressed with your finger it leaves a dent, not melted or runny. Using room-temperature butter creams much better than cold butter. If you use unsalted butter, you’ll want to add 1/4 teaspoon for the proper.

All-Purpose Flour – You can use bleached or unbleached flour. One doesn’t act or taste any differently from the other. Unbleached flour is just less processed since it doesn’t go through the step of bleaching it.

Sugar – We use white granulated sugar and brown sugar in this recipe. The brown sugar adds the slight flavor of molasses which we love. You can use light or dark brown sugar.

Eggs – Grade A large eggs are what I use for consistency in my recipes.

Sour Cream – We recommend full-fat sour cream which helps make a moist muffin. It also acts as an acid that activates the baking soda and baking powder ingredients which helps the muffins rise with a soft and tender crumb. You can substitute it with plain yogurt.

Spices – Cinnamon, Allspice, and Salt is what we use in our delicious muffins.

Almond Extract – You could substitute with vanilla extract.

Milk – Again, we recommend using full-fat. However, you can substitute with any variety of milk.

Cherries. Quartered and pitted. You can use fresh or frozen cherries in this recipe. There’s no need to thaw the cherries before use. However, if they’re thawed, they should be drained of extra liquid. We used tart cherries but you can substitute them with dark cherries, fresh Bing cherries, or your favorite variety. I don’t recommend maraschino cherries.

Popular Variations & Additions

• Nuts – Add up to 1/2 cup of slivered almonds, chopped almonds, walnuts, or macadamia nuts.
• Lemon peel – Lemon and cherry go together deliciously. Add the zest of one lemon or approximately 1 teaspoon.
• Chocolate Cherry Muffins – A 1/2 cup of chocolate chips will add a special touch, especially if serving these to children. I like dark chocolate with cherries, but any type of chocolate chip will work.
• Add glaze or a Crumble topping. A drizzle of simple powdered sugar glaze elevates the muffins to a new level. A Crumble topping will put them over the top. We did both to our Apple Crumble Muffin. You can even sprinkle on slivered almonds before the glaze dries for a little crunch.

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How To Make Cherry Muffins

Step One: Get ready to roll.

Make sure to preheat your oven thoroughly for best results. Get your muffin pan ready with muffin liners or a non-stick cooking spray. Pull out your ingredients and tools. The cherries need quartered and pitted, so go ahead and take care of that.

Step Two: Mix the liquid ingredients for cherry muffin batter.

Cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until nice and fluffy. Add the eggs. Then add the sour cream and almond extract. Whisk until blended.

Step Three: Mix the dry ingredients.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, and salt together.

Step Four: Prep the cherries.

In a separate bowl, add some of the flour mixture to the cherries. Gently mix to coat the cherries with the flour mixture. This keeps the cherries floating in the muffins so they don’t all sink to the bottom.

Step Five: Combine the two mixtures.

Add the flour mixture to the butter/egg mixture alternating with milk.

Step Six: Fold in the cherries.

Gently mix so that you don’t tear up the cherries.

Step Seven. Bake your cherry muffins.

Using a large scoop, fill the muffin pan. Bake for five minutes, then decrease the oven temperature and keep baking for an additional 16-18 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Cool in the pan for 4 to 5 minutes and then remove the muffins to a cooling rack. 

How To Store Leftover Cherry Muffins

You can keep the muffins at room temperature for 3 to 4 days. If it’s very warm where you live, they can also be refrigerated in an airtight container to keep them from becoming soggy.

Can I Freeze Fresh Cherry Muffins?

Yes. Place them in the freezer on a sheet tray, and once frozen, they can all share a container or freezer bag, and you can grab what you need when you need it. Thaw muffins fast in the microwave. It will only take about thirty seconds.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes a muffin dry?

Overmixing or overbaking will both make your muffins dry. Measure the ingredients carefully, and make sure to cream the fat with the sugar as described. Any mistakes in these areas can cause dry muffins.

Can I use canned cherries?

I haven’t tested this recipe with canned cherries, but I imagine you could. You’ll want to rinse and drain them first.

Hostess Tips and Tricks

Frozen Cherries – If you’re using frozen cherries, they’re easier to slice while frozen.

Pit the Cherries – I don’t own a cherry pitter. It’s easy to pit fresh cherries using the end of a chopstick to push the seed out.

Don’t overmix muffin batter. This is a classic mistake that makes your muffins dense and dry as it over-activates the gluten.

Don’t overbake your muffins. Preheat your oven to the right temperature and bake your muffins for exactly the time prescribed, turning the pan halfway through baking which will ensure the muffins bake evenly. Test at the shortest time given on the recipe card. Remove the muffins when a toothpick or cake tester comes out with light crumbs. 

Let it cool. Let the muffins cool in the pan for four or five minutes, then transfer them to a cooling rack to cool completely before storing. That is if they make it to storage. Storing muffins hot will cause steam to escape the muffins and line the container making your muffins soggy in the process.

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If you’re still looking for a great muffin recipe, we’ve got you! Our Homemade Muffins and Rhubarb Muffins are very popular. For our gluten-free friends, this Cherry Almond Muffin recipe is for you. Take a look and let me know what you think.

I hope you enjoyed this delicious recipe as much as we do. Drop me a comment below, and don’t forget to give it a star rating. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐. Your comments and ratings help others decide if this recipe is for them too.

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