Featured comment:
“Delicious recipe! I live in Washington State so there are amazing Rainier cherries here in the summer.ย ” ~Ingrid
Yay! We’re right smack dab in the middle of the sweet spot for buying cherries. Supply is up and the price is down. I’ve never used Ranier cherries before, they’re those creamy yellow cherries from Washington; they’re usually more expensive, and harder to find. Apparently the birds like them too, and they eat a lot of the crop before it even leaves the trees. But they are affordable and in season right now, and so I grabbed a bag.
They’re a pretty combination of blush red and yellow on the outside, and pale yellow inside. They have a sweeter, lighter taste than regular cherries.
I really loaded these muffins with them, along with lots of sliced almonds. Then I added a cherry almond glaze on top just to seal the deal.
I find cherries to be totally irresistible, and the fact that they have such a short season makes them all the more desirable, in my mind. If you can get your hands on fresh cherries, definitely look up my Sweet Cherry Almond Bars, the cherries are baked up in a to-die-for buttery almond shortbread crumble crust ~ yum!
more summer cherry recipes
- Cherry Crumble Pie
- Cherry Pie Filling Recipe
- Cherry Almond Crisp Dump Cake
- Sour Cherry Almond Bars
- Fresh Cherry Dessert Sauce
Ranier Cherry Almond Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup (heaping) pitted and chopped sweet cherries
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
For the glaze
- 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
- 1 tsp almond extract
- cherry juice, or milk or cream to thin
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds, lightly crushed
Instructions
- Set oven to 375ยฐF.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Whisk the wet ingredients together in a separate bowl. Add wet ingredients to the dry, mixing just until combined.
- Fold in the cherries and almonds.
- Fill 12 muffin cups and bake for 25-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Make the glaze by mixing the sugar with enough cherry juice, or milk, to make a spreadable glaze. Add the almond extract and the crushed almonds.
- Cool the muffins on a rack, and spoon the glaze over them when they are cool.
Delicious recipe! I live in Washington State so there are amazing Rainier cherries here in the summer. I added 1 tsp vanilla paste and 1/2 tsp almond extract to the batter. I baked at 420 for 5 minutes then 345 for 16 minutes and they were perfect. I did add salt to the icing. Excellent!
I keep trying to figure out why you would change the temp and bake times. Neither of which is the recommended baking temperature or baking time. What benefit did that bring? How do you know they wouldn’t be perfect for 25-35 minutes at 375?
Can these muffins be frozen before glazing?
I don’t see why not, sure!