These soft, moist Chocolate Cherry Muffins are packed with fresh cherries and chocolate chips. These delicious muffins are made without a mixer, are super easy to make and are perfect for breakfast and brunch!
Cherries are one of those fruits that go so well with chocolate! I’m so glad I decided to use some of our fresh cherries to make these moist, buttery cherry muffins!
One of my other favorite cherry recipes is my showstopping White Forest Cake! These Chocolate Cherry Popsicles are another refreshing and delicious must make cherry-chocolate recipe!
In addition to cherries, strawberries are also incredibly good with chocolate as evidenced by these decadent Strawberry Cheesecake Brownies and these flavorful Strawberry Blondies topped with white chocolate!
THESE CHOCOLATE CHERRY MUFFINS ARE:
- Buttery and moist: Butter and buttermilk add flavor and richness and make these muffins so moist!
- Tall: They have perfect, bakery style tops!
- Flavorful: They’re flavored with cinnamon and vanilla extract and are topped with a crunchy cinnamon streusel!
- Easy: Since it’s not good to overmix muffins, the ingredients are folded together and there’s no mixer needed.
- Unique: Cherries and chocolate are a delicious yet slightly uncommon combination!
These muffins were inspired by my Lemon Blueberry Muffins. They have the same fluffy, moist texture but are flavored with cinnamon and vanilla extract instead of lemon and the blueberries were replaced with cherries and chocolate chips.
WHAT ARE DIFFERENT TYPES OF MUFFINS?
For a different kind of muffin, I highly recommend these tender, flavorful Lemon Chia Seed Muffins! Another delicious, but less common type of muffin are these Lemon Ricotta Muffins! The ricotta cheese adds a richness that I just love!
These Banana Muffins with Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chips are also special muffins that remind me a lot of banana bread!
WHAT MAKES A GOOD MUFFIN?
One thing I should mention is to not over mix your batter especially when combining the wet and dry ingredients. I like to use a rubber spatula for this is to just fold them together rather than stirring it with a lot of elbow grease. Avoiding over mixing will give us that nice, tender muffin we’re looking for.
SUBSTITUTION OPTIONS
Writing this recipe during social distancing days, I want to offer some substitutes and variations so that you wouldn’t need to make a trip to the store for something. I’ve made several variations of these muffins and each batch was delicious! Below are some options. Feel free to use what you have/like:
- SUGAR: Use white or light or brown sugar or a combination.
- CHOCOLATE: Semi sweet or dark. I used chocolate chips, but chocolate chunks or a chocolate bar roughly chopped also works.
- CINNAMON: Luckily cinnamon is a very commons spice. I wouldn’t recommend skiping it since it adds warmth and such a nice flavor.
- BUTTERMILK: Buttermilk adds a delicious, slightly tangy flavor, and a moist, tender texture to muffins. No need to make a trip to the store for buttermilk! You can substitute the buttermilk for the same amount of whole milk or plain, full fat yogurt.
- BUTTER: I prefer unsalted but salted can be used.
- MUFFIN LINERS: If you’re like me and are out of paper cupcake liners, just grease the muffin tin really well.
FILLING THE MUFFIN TINS
Fill the muffin cups to the tops. I use an ice cream scoop to do this because it results in even muffins and it makes scooping the batter a little less messy.
Once the batter is evenly distributed in the muffin liners, take the crumble out of the fridge and evenly and top each cupcake. I like to sprinkle coarse sugar on top of the crumble. It’s not necessary but it adds a little extra crunch, sparkle and sweetness. Coarse sugar also gives these muffins a more bakery-style look to them too!
HOW TO MAKE CRUMBLE FROM SCRATCH
Who doesn’t love a delicious muffin top especially one with a sweet, buttery crumble topping! This crumble adds both a light crunch and sweet cinnamon flavor. You’ll also love how delicious and easy it is!
INGREDIENTS FOR THE CRUMBLE TOPPING
- Flour
- Light Brown Sugar
- Melted Butter
- Cinnamon
HOW TO MAKE THE CRUMBLE
Use a spoon or your hands to mix the ingredients together. I like to leave some bits smaller and some a little chunkier. Mix the topping up first and put it in the fridge while you make the batter.
TESTING FOR DONENESS
There are a couple good ways to DO this. One way is to stick a toothpick into the center of one. If it comes out clean (i.e. without any wet crumbs), then they’re done. Another way to check is to press a muffin lightly with your finger. If it springs back, they’re done.
As a huge fan of fresh fruit, I can assure you, these Chocolate Cherry Muffins are totally worth setting some fresh cherries aside to make them!Make these chocolate cherry muffins for dessert tonight and enjoy them again for breakfast tomorrow. They are delicious warm with butter slathered over them and are just as good at room temperature!
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Chocolate Cherry Muffins
- Prep Time: 25
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 12–16 muffins 1x
- Category: Dessert, Muffins
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
These chocolate cherry muffins are super moist and delicious! They’re packed with melty chocolate chips and fresh, sweet cherries, flavored with vanilla, cinnamon and topped with a tender, flavorful crumble!
Ingredients
FOR THE STREUSEL
- 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 2 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
FOR THE MUFFINS
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar, light or dark
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk or whole milk, room temperature
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips, semi sweet or dark
- 1 1/4 cups fresh cherries, pitted, roughly chopped
Instructions
FOR THE STREUSEL
- Combine the melted butter, flour, sugar, and the cinnamon in a bowl butter in a small bowl. Set aside in the fridge to chill while you prepare the batter.
FOR THE MUFFINS
- Preheat oven to 425 F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl combine the flour, sugars, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Stir together until just combined. Add the cherries and toss them in the mixture to coat them. Set bowl aside.
- To a medium sized bowl, add the melted butter, buttermilk or milk, vanilla extract, and eggs. Whisk to combine.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined. Fold in the chocolate chips, mixing just to combine. Use an ice cream scoop to evenly distribute the batter into the prepared cupcake tin. (The cupcakes will be filled to the rim with batter). Top with the crumble and sprinkle with turbinado sugar, if using.
- Bake at 425 F for 5 minutes then reduce heat to 375 and bake for an additional 13-15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out without wet crumbs when inserted in the middle of a muffin.
- Let cool in tin for 15 minutes then transfer muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.
Keywords: muffins, breakfast, dessert, chocolate chips, cherries, fruit, cinnamon, streusel, crumble, cherry muffins, chocolate
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