I dream about muffins. I think that might be strange because most people don’t think of them as that exciting but I do! Before I really knew anything about baking, I used to think cupcakes and muffins were very similar; boy, was I wrong. Muffins are a quick bread base, meaning the crumb is quite large and they come together very easily simply by adding the wet ingredients to the dry mixed ingredients. Then, it’s baked up.

Cupcakes are usually made with sugar and butter creaming together first. And usually ends with milk and flour being alternated. The ratios are different too!

I won’t get too detailed but I will say that muffins are way easier than mastering cupcakes. And they require zero frosting skills!

These combine delicious chocolate chunks with fruit and fresh cherries. I love cherries and whenever I see them at the market, I get super excited because it means SUMMER!

Cherry Chocolate Chunk Muffins

Cherries mean summer and these cherry chocolate chunk muffins are the perfect thing to snack on in the afternoon. (Recipe Credit: Adrianna Adarme of Fresh Tastes)

Ingredients

• 1 cup cherries, pitted and roughly chopped  
• 2 cups all-purpose flour + 1 teaspoon, divided
• 3/4 cup whole milk 
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup white granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons neutral oil (such as grapeseed, vegetable oil or avocado oil) 
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks (about 2 ounces)
• 2 tablespoons turbinado sugar, for topping 

Directions

1. Place muffin liners in a muffin tin and set aside. If your liners aren’t made of parchment and just paper, you might want to spray them with cooking spray.
2. In a bowl, toss the cherries with the teaspoon of flour and set aside. 
3. In medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, sugar, neutral oil, eggs and vanilla extract. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until barely combined. Add the cherries and chocolate chunks.  
4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Divide the batter amongst the twelve cavities in the muffin tin. Sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar. 
5. Transfer to the oven to bake for 18-20 minutes. 
6. Let the muffins cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then carefully remove and allow to cool on a cooling rack. 

Yield: 12

Adrianna Adarme is a food blogger and author living in Los Angeles, California. She writes the blog A Cozy Kitchen, where she shares comforting, everyday recipes from her kitchen. She recently authored her first cookbook, PANCAKES: 72 Sweet and Savory Recipes for the Perfect Stack. She’s a lover of breakfast, pie (and sometimes even pie for breakfast), corgis and cute things. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.