Cherry almond muffins, filled with cherries and topped with a brown sugar streusel, taste indulgent yet are made with reduced sugar.
Recipe Notes
Some ingredients used in this recipe may not be found at every grocery store. Fortunately, many specialty items are widely available online.
This recipe offers an option to use a stevia blend to lower the sugar content. The package notes that the blend is sweeter than sugar, but in practice the sweetness can vary, so the recipe provides two options: 2/3 cup Stevia Blend or 1 cup granulated sugar.
Almond paste provides the rich almond flavor in these muffins. It can sometimes be found in grocery stores, but if it isn’t available, you can buy it in a multi-pack or make a simple almond paste at home.
Also optional are tulip-style baking cups. These liners extend above the rim of a muffin pan, allowing you to fill cups with more batter and add extra streusel on top. They also make it easy to lift muffins out of the pan when cooling and provide a neat presentation. Note: with tulip liners this recipe yields 12 large muffins; with standard liners it makes 24 smaller muffins.
Tulip liners let you spoon more batter into each cup and still top with a generous streusel. When cooled, the unfolded liner serves as a small plate for eating the muffin. They’re optional but useful if you prefer larger muffins and an attractive presentation.
This recipe produces 12 large muffins with tulip-style liners or 24 standard-size muffins with regular liners.
Other Muffin Recipes You Might Like:
- Mixed Berry Muffins with Streusel
- Healthy Chocolate Banana Muffins
- Lemon Blueberry Muffins
- Gluten-Free Blueberry Muffins with Streusel
📖 Recipe
Cherry Almond Muffins
12-24 muffins
*NOTE: Yield varies with liner size. Tulip-style baking cups produce 12 large muffins; standard liners make 24 smaller muffins.
Ingredients
FOR THE STREUSEL
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup old fashioned oats
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
FOR THE MUFFINS:
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
- 8 oz almond paste
- 2/3 cup Stevia Blend (or 1 cup granulated sugar)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup plain yogurt, full fat or 2%
- 2 cups canned sweet cherries, drained and cut into quarters
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 13 oz cherry preserves or cherry jam
Instructions
MAKE THE STREUSEL:
- Combine the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and oats in a small bowl. Pour in the melted butter and mix until the dry ingredients are moistened. Cover and set aside.
BAKE THE MUFFINS:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) and line a muffin pan with paper liners.
- Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, Stevia Blend (or sugar), and almond paste on medium-high for about 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl down. Add eggs one at a time, beating 30 seconds after each and scraping down as needed. Add the yogurt, vanilla, and almond extracts and beat on medium just until combined.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture with a rubber spatula, then fold in the chopped cherries.
- Divide the batter between muffin cups—12 if using tulip liners or 24 with regular liners. Dollop cherry preserves on top of each muffin, distributing evenly, then sprinkle the streusel across all muffins.
- Bake 20–35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean.
- Allow muffins to cool on a wire rack before serving.
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