Next time you’re in search of a delicious sour cherry recipe look no further than these sour cherry muffins. Perfect for breakfast, these muffins will having you loving cherry season!
Sour cherries, or tart cherries are absolutely amazing – have you ever tried them? They’re a cherry that is closely related to the sweet cherry, but is more tart – or sour – hence it’s name. They also have tons of nutritional benefits, like being high in antioxidants, they can help regulate sleep because of their high melatonin content, and they can be anti-inflammatory.
When they’re not in season fresh, they can be found in the freezer section at your local grocery store (the frozen ones usually have the name ‘tart cherries’ on the bag).
I’ve been making these cherry muffins for years, and have had so many readers tell me how much they love them, so I updated the pictures a little and am excited to re-share this recipe with you.
Sour cherries have a wonderful tart flavor that is second to none. One could use fresh or frozen cherries for this recipe (I’ve used both with the same great results.) I like topping the muffins with a little sanding sugar (I like to use a sanding sugar like this one) because it makes for a delicious sweet and slightly crunchy finish. I also like using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop (like this one) to scoop the batter into the muffin liners, it makes for perfectly even muffins!
The muffins are marbled throughout with cherries and make such a great breakfast. So the next time you’re looking for a sour cherry recipe, I’d definitely recommend making these sour cherry muffins 🙂
Sour Cherry Muffins
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup reduced fat buttermilk
- 1/4 cup water
- 2/3 cup canola oil
- 1 large egg
- zest of 1 lemon, about 1 heaping tablespoon
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 cups sour cherries (fresh or frozen, make sure the cherries are pitted. 2 cups is about 12 oz cherries)
- 2 Tbs Sanding Sugar for topping (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 and line muffin pan(s) with liners (the batter makes 18 muffins).
In a bowl mix together buttermilk, water, canola oil and egg. Mix well.
Next add the lemon zest, flour, sugar, and baking powder and stir until well incorporated.
Lastly fold in the cherries and stir until just combined.
Using a 2 tablespoon cookie scoop (or just using a spoon), scoop batter into muffins cups so that each muffin cup is about 3/4 full. Sprinkle a little sanding sugar on top of the muffin batter, and then bake for 25 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Let rest for a few minutes, and then transfer to a wire cooling wrack and allow to cool for 10 minutes before enjoying.
Notes
These muffins freeze/defrost really well. To freeze the muffins allow them to cool completely, then put them in a freezer storage bag or container and freeze. When ready to enjoy, simply remove from the freezer and allow to come to room temperature on the counter, or microwave for a few seconds to speed up the process.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
18Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 187 Total Fat: 9g Saturated Fat: 1g Trans Fat: 0g Unsaturated Fat: 8g Cholesterol: 11mg Sodium: 51mg Carbohydrates: 26g Fiber: 1g Sugar: 14g Protein: 2g
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Cathy Landolfo says
I made these muffins today. I used a little orange juice on the cherries. I did not have lemon zest. Wonderful recipe!
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much! So glad you liked this recipe!!
Sarah Critchley says
I have dried tart cherries. Can I use them?
Sweetphi says
I don’t think dried cherries would work in this recipe, sorry, you want the moisture in the fresh (or frozen and thawed) cherries
Alyssa says
How well does this recipe work without the sugar (or what would be the minimum to add)?
Sweetphi says
They would be pretty sour without the sugar, because it’s a recipe that calls for sour cherries. You could use coconut sugar or half the sugar if you’d like 🙂
N.Roberts says
This recipe needs work. Ratio of flour to sugar is wrong. There is just too much sugar for the amount of flour specified. It needs salt, baking soda and more baking powder. It also needs more lemon rind. A bit of almond extract would enhance the cherries. The oven temperature is too low. The muffins came out flat and with no color. Second time around with the improvements yielded a better muffin .
Sweetphi says
Hi there, thank you for your feedback. I’m wondering if you misread the recipe or something? I, along with many others, have made this recipe countless times as written with excellent results. If you’re using sour cherries and drain them properly, the muffins would be super sour without the sugar…and if you were to increase the oven temperature, you’d end up with a super dry muffin on top and not fully cooked in the middle. Regardless, sorry these didn’t work for you. I love the recommendation of the addition of almond extract – that goes very well with cherries and cranberries to bring out the flavor.
Alice says
This is the second time making this recipe! Everyone in my house loves them!!!?
Sweetphi says
So happy to hear that Alice, this is one of my favorites too!
Mariellen Puhl says
Could tart cherry butter be used in this recipe instead of the cherries?
Sweetphi says
Yes it could be, it will have a different color, but I think the flavor would be delicious!
Sandy Long says
Made exactly as recipe and they were delicious. Very light, not too dense. Two 8 year old Grandsons and 71 year old husband devoured them. Making a double batch today and freezing them.
Thank you Sweetphi.
Sweetphi says
I’m so happy to hear this Sandy, thank you for coming back and leaving the feedback 🙂
J Patel says
1st time trying this muffins. Wow! Wonderful recipe.
Will make another batch soon.
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback, so glad you like them!!
Samantha says
Thank you for your recipe!! We have sour cherry trees in our backyard & this recipe was the perfect way to ensure that none go to waste! Absolutely amazing- love the lemon with the sour cherries. I also drizzled with cream cheese frosting once they cooled!
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much, so glad you like this recipe. How absolutely cool that you have a cherry tree in your yard, I have major yard envy lol. The cream cheese frosting drizzle sounds amazing, I’ll have to try that!
Amanda Raduege says
I’ve made this recipe for the past 3 years with our fresh cherries from our trees, by far my favorite cherry recipe!! Thank you so much for sharing!!
Sweetphi says
Oh my goodness, thank you so much for sharing this lovely comment with me. I’m so happy you like this recipe (and that’s so neat you have a cherry tree!!)
Linda E says
Can you use this recipe with gluten free flour? We are GF in our home and gathered a bunch of sour cherries.
Connie says
Can I use lime zest instead of lemon for the Sour Cherry Muffins?
Sweetphi says
Yes you can!
Sweetphi says
Yes of course! My favorite is Bob’s red mill 1-to-1 gluten free baking flour
Ben Scherer says
Ben scherer. Trying it for the first time I’m new at cooking trying not to wast leftover fruit cherries were what I had to much of the directions were easy hope they tast as good
Sweetphi says
Hi Ben, thanks for commenting, hope you love these cherry muffins, they get rave reviews!
Tracy Chretien says
Just made these…already ate 2 they are so good!! Planning to make a batch to take to a family potluck. Can’t wait to share them.
Sweetphi says
What a lovely comment, thank you so much for your feedback, so glad you like them!
Kent M, Lund, NV says
What can I say, quick, easy, delicious. Thanks
Sweetphi says
So happy to hear that, glad you liked them!
SW says
Thank you for this recipe! A friend gave me some sour cherries in the fall that I had frozen & thought I’d better use them! I didn’t have quite 2 cups so I threw in some blueberries to make up the difference. They are great – this is a keeper recipe.
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much, so happy to hear you like them!!
Nancy Martin says
I made this muffins for a church Breakfast yesterday. And there where a big hit. Everyone love them! I glad I have sour cherries to make more. My favorite now!
Nancy
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much for coming back and leaving such wonderful feedback, I’m so glad you enjoyed these muffins!
Sandy J says
These turned out wonderfully! I made a couple of adjustments using one cup of almond flour and one cup of white, and substituting about .5 cup of bing cherries since I didn’t quite have enough sour cherries. I’m looking forward to next years crop of cherries! I wonder, do you have an idea of calorie and carb count?
Sweetphi says
Love hearing about your modifications, so glad you enjoyed this recipe! I just added the nutritional information – when made like the recipe states, 1 muffin is 187 calories with 26gms carbohydrates – hope that helps!
J says
Great recipe- very jammy and the sourness is nice and tart but balanced. Like a crumble in a little cake!
Sweetphi says
So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for commenting!
Nicole says
Turns out our sour cherries we just bought at the farmer’s market had already gone bad. I was wondering if we could substitute a different kind of fruit into the recipe, and what fruit you think might work well?
Sweetphi says
Raspberries or any other berries would work well in this recipe
Sue says
I made this recipe and used fresh bing cherries. Used a little less sugar. I pitted them and cut them in quarters. Sprinkled a little flour on them before adding to the batter. Turned out very well.
Sweetphi says
Thank you so much for the comment and sharing your modifications 🙂 so glad you liked these muffins!