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 🙂

Yield: 18

Sour Cherry Muffins

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Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

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:

18

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 187Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 11mgSodium: 51mgCarbohydrates: 26gFiber: 1gSugar: 14gProtein: 2g