These deliciously moist, light, and fluffy muffins are loaded with fresh juicy cherries and studded with white chocolate chips for a perfect on-the-go breakfast or snack. Oozing with the perfect amount of sweetness, this tempting treat could even be considered a dessert. Though fresh cherries are the perfect match for white chocolate chips, dark chocolate chips would also be an A+ combination.
Makes 18 muffins
Ingredients
White Chocolate Cherry Muffins
2 large eggs
¾ cup full-fat buttermilk
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ tsp pure almond extract
½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for fruit and chocolate chips
¾ cup granulated sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
⅔ cup white chocolate chips
1½ cups fresh cherries, stems removed and pitted
Crumb Topping
1 cup all-purpose flour
⅔ cup light brown sugar
½ cup salted butter, melted
Directions
White Chocolate Cherry Muffins
Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 18 muffin cups with paper liners.
In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, and almond extract until combined.
Slowly whisk the cooled melted butter into the milk mixture, being careful not to "cook" the eggs. Whisk the mixture until smooth.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into the center. Use a whisk to beat until smooth and incorporated, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Toss the white chocolate chips in a little bit of flour until they are lightly coated. (This will prevent them from sinking to the bottom of your muffins.) Using a rubber spatula, fold the white chocolate chips into the batter, being careful to over mix.
Lightly toss the pitted cherries in a little bit of flour, then gently fold into the muffin batter until just mixed.
Evenly spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each cup about two-thirds of the way. Be careful not to no overfill.
Crumb Topping
In a small bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, and butter until crumbly and the mixture resembles wet sand. (I used my fingers to thoroughly mix in the butter.)
Cover each muffin generously with the crumb topping.
Bake the muffins about 20-25 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with moist crumbs. Allow muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the pan, and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.