Dried Cherry Buttermilk Muffins with Almond Streusel
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Moist buttermilk muffins studded with tart dried cherries & topped with a crisp almond streusel.
These buttermilk muffins studded with tart dried cherries and topped with a crisp almond streusel, are — quite simply — the loveliest little muffins you ever met.
What You’ll Need To Make Dried Cherry Buttermilk Muffins
Step-by-Step Instructions
To make them, begin with the streusel topping: in a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon.
Use your fingertips to rub in the cold butter until the mixture is moistened and clumpy. Stir in the sliced almonds and place in the freezer to chill while you make the muffin batter.
Begin by combining the buttermilk, dried cherries, and almond extract. Set aside.
Next, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Gently stir in the dry ingredients and buttermilk-cherry mixture.
Spoon the batter into muffin tins and sprinkle the cold streusel mixture over top.
Bake at 425°F for 8 minutes, then lower the heat to 350°F and cook about 10 minutes more.
Let cool in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Enjoy!
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Dried Cherry Buttermilk Muffins with Almond Streusel
Moist buttermilk muffins studded with tart dried cherries & topped with a crisp almond streusel.
Ingredients
For the Almond Streusel
- ⅓ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- ½ cup sliced almonds
For the Muffins
- 1 heaping cup dried cherries, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup buttermilk (see note)
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spray two muffin pans with nonstick cooking spray (you'll use 8 cups in each pan).
- Make the streusel: Combine the brown sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; mix until well combined. Use your fingers to rub the butter into the dry mixture until the mixture is moistened and clumpy. Stir in the almonds. Place the streusel topping in the freezer until ready to use.
- In a medium bowl, combine the cherries, buttermilk and almond extract. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, a few minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl and mixing well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients and buttermilk-cherry mixture and stir on low speed until just combined. Do not overmix. Fill the muffin cups about ¾ full with the batter, then sprinkle the cold streusel topping evenly overtop.
- Bake for 8 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350°F degrees and continue cooking for 10 minutes more, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let the muffins sit in the pan for a few minutes, then transfer to rack to cool completely.
- Note: If you’d like to make your own buttermilk, check out the easy method here.
- Note: These muffins are best served warm out of the oven. To "refresh" them, simply reheat them in the microwave for 5-10 seconds.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The muffins can be frozen in an airtight container or sealable plastic bag for up to 3 months. Thaw for 3 – 4 hours on the countertop before serving. To reheat, wrap individual muffins in aluminum foil and place in a preheated 350°F oven until warm.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (16 servings)
- Serving size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 248
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 36 g
- Sugar: 20 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Sodium: 175 mg
- Cholesterol: 45 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Very good. I added 2oz chopped pecans. Reduced sugar to a 1/2 cup. Great texture. Increased almond extract to 1tsp
deeeelicious! I used a 6-muffin pan and made a half-recipe, so they did spread out the top of the pan a bit since the cups were overfilled, but they were quite wonderful. I just wanted something nice quickly to go with my leftover soup, and these were perfect . . . moist with crunchy top and tart cherry bursts inside. yummm!
Hi Jenn,
I have frozen black cherries on hand and I am wondering : do you think they would work in this recipe?
I wouldn’t suggest it as the juice from the cherries will add more moisture to the muffins and they may be too wet. Sorry!
I made these today exactly as instructed. The texture is nice and moist, but the muffins generally lack flavor. I guess the recipe could be improved with the addition of chopped nuts in the batter, not just in the topping, perhaps doubling the amount of dried cherries or the addition of spices to the batter to bring more flavor. I’m sad because this is the first recipe from Once Upon a Chef that I haven’t loved! I thought I could trust everything on this site to be amazing. The tuna and egg salad recipes, for example, are inspirational! Sorry to be a bummer.
I only had enough batter to fill one muffin pan. Is the recipe for 2 mini muffin pans? They still came out very nice and I would make again!
Anna
Glad you liked them! This should make 16 muffins (in a regular tin). I’m assuming you must have filled them up quite a bit?
Hi Jen,
The metric version does not show – would you mind checking?
Sorry about that, JW – I just corrected it. Enjoy!
I have made these a few times and my family and I thought they were great. I have also made this recipe using vanilla extract and pecans with great success as my family prefers vanilla over almond extract.
These muffins are superb. They baked beautifully. Looked like the picture. The crumb is tender, the muffin is flavorful and well balanced. Loved the streusel topping. The only change that I made to the recipe, was to add only 1/4 tsp of almond extract plus 1/4 tsp vanilla extract. Thank you for a delicious beautiful muffin that is now a family favorite!
So I opted not to add the streusel. I am sure it is yummy but I was
1. without brown sugar, could have made some with plain sugar & molasses but was in a hurry
2. my kids get way too much sugar as it is.
I did add about a 1/3 cup of chopped almonds to the mix. Used vanilla instead of almond extract since I was out. And they are in the oven now and look so dang awesome. Can not wait to bite into one before we rush out the door for our busy Sat. I did figure the almond slices and cherries will give the kiddos energy and I also substituted coconut oil for the butter since I have tons and it is so yummy. I will post again after we chow down! excited to try them!
Oh my….I happen to have all the ingredients to make these. I fell in love when I saw dried cherries. Will let you know.