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    Home » Recipes » Breakfast Muffin Recipes

    Cherry Vanilla Muffins

    Published: Jul 25, 2011 · Modified: Jun 19, 2022 by Chef Dennis Littley

    315 shares
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    • Yummly
    4.50 from 2 votes
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    Pinterest image for cherry vanilla muffins

    I’m beginning to see cherries in the market and my Cherry Vanilla Muffins would be a delicious way to incorporate them into your daily meals.

    3 cherry vanilla muffins on a white plate

    After gorging myself on cherries every night for the past few days, I finally decided to bake something while I still had a few on hand. I didn’t want to make anything too decadent or sweet today so I turned to muffins, or as I like to think of them “almost cupcakes”

    I have a good go-to recipe for muffins,  which has seen quite a few variations over the years and has yet to fail me. The muffins were perfect, a delightful crumb, not too sweet with just a little bit of crunch on the exterior.

    Feel free to change them up a bit, but the base recipe is a keeper and should be filed away for further use.
    I hope you enjoy these as much as we did!

    cherry vanilla muffin split sitting a white plate with whole cherries

    These little muffins truly are a wonderful treat, they freeze well and can provide a much better start to your day than some store-made over-processed version. If you don’t have cherries try peaches, nectarines, or berries…..just try them. 

    One thing I do is measure out all my dry ingredients and have a few sets made up in zip-lock bags ready to go. That way when I stumble out of bed, it’s not such a chore to make the muffins and have them ready for breakfast by the time my wife gets up. If you have fruit to prep do it the night before too!

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    cherry muffin cut in half with 3 cherries on a white plate
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    4.50 from 2 votes

    Cherry Vanilla Muffins

    Wouldn’t it be nice to wake up your household to these delicious Cherry Vanilla Muffins?  Their easy to make and can even be prepped the night before!
    Prep Time10 mins
    Cook Time25 mins
    Total Time35 mins
    Course: Breakfast
    Cuisine: American
    Servings: 12
    Calories: 226kcal
    Author: Chef Dennis Littley

    Ingredients

    • 1 ½ cup all purpose flour
    • ½ cup sugar
    • ½ tsp salt
    • ½ tsp baking powder
    • ½ tsp baking soda
    • ½ cup low fat Greek yogurt
    • ½ cup vegetable oil
    • 2 large eggs
    • 1 Tbsp vanilla powder or pure vanilla extract
    • 1 lemon zest and a good squeeze of juice grated
    • 2 cups sweet cherries pitted and cut in half fresh or frozen
    • ½ cup granola for topping
    US Customary – Metric
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    Instructions

    • Mix all your dry ingredients together in one bowl (including Vanilla Powder)
    • Lightly beat the eggs and add in the Greek Yogurt, oil, lemon zest, and juice from the lemon. Mix all these ingredients until well blended.
    • Add wet mixture to dry mixture and mix just enough to blend.
    • Fold in the Cherries into the muffin mix. (donot over mix; it will make the muffins tough)
    • Sprinkle the tops with granola.
    • Bake for 25-30minutes at 350 degrees until the tops are golden brown.
    • This will yield 6 large muffins or 12 small muffins

    Nutrition

    Calories: 226kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 165mg | Potassium: 118mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 60IU | Vitamin C: 2.2mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 1.2mg
    Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @askChefDennis or tag #askChefDennis!

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    About Chef Dennis

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    Chef Dennis Littley is a classically trained chef with over 40 years of experience working in the food service industry. In his second career as a food blogger he has made it his mission to demistify cooking by sharing his time-tested recipes, knowledge, and chef tips to help you create easy-to-make restaurant-quality meals in your home kitchen. Let Chef Dennis help you bring the joy of cooking into your home. For more details, check out his About page.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Laura

      January 06, 2021 at 9:31 am

      Thank you for your muffin recipes! I have made the black and white and am going to try the cherry vanilla next. I bake for my sunday school class and for a coffee shop. The basic muffin recipe will be the most useful for seasonal fruits.

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        January 06, 2021 at 9:33 am

        it really is a good basic recipe that’s very easily adaptable, have fun!!

        Reply
    2. Martha Pierson

      July 22, 2020 at 4:21 pm

      I made these wonderful muffins today!! Pretty much followed your recipe but added more lemon juice and cut the cherries in quarters for smaller pieces…i will continue to look at your recipes… thanks!!

      Reply
    3. Donna Green

      April 20, 2020 at 12:34 am

      Fantastic Dennis!

      I used coconut yoghurt instead of dairy.

      These are the best I’ve made and I’ve been cooking a long time.

      Thank you 😃

      Reply
    4. Charlotte Andrew

      April 04, 2019 at 2:26 pm

      Your tirimisu is to die for! Can’t wait to try these! Can I use full fat sour cream instead of yogurt? Tia

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        April 04, 2019 at 4:06 pm

        hi Charlotte

        You certainly can replace the yogurt with full-fat sour cream! Enjoy

        Reply
    5. Laura

      December 25, 2017 at 2:43 pm

      Good afternoon Dennis;
      I have a question that I am kind of embarrassed to ask…. but cut me slack…. I’m brand new to baking!
      The numerical amount of your 1st ingredient, flour is worded as 1 cup 1/2. I interpret that as meaning 1 & 1/2 cups of flour.
      The numerical amount of your 2nd ingredient, sugar is worded as: cup 1/2 sugar, with the numerical amount shown after the type of measurement….. “cup”. So I am NOT sure if that means 1 & 1/2 cups of sugar, or 1/2 cup sugar.
      Another reason why I am confused is that in looking at a few of your other recipes, the way that you structured them is with the quantity BEFORE the type of measurement.
      I would imagine that someone who has baked a few times before would be able to look at the ratio of the ingredients to each other and just automatically know which way to interpret it. But not me due to this being my 1st time baking from scratch!
      Please clarify. THANK YOU!!!

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        December 25, 2017 at 4:46 pm

        hi Laura

        thank you for bringing this to my attention. When I transferred over to the new recipe system some of my recipes were jumbled like this one. I have fixed it and you should be good to go now.
        Let me know if you have any other questions.

        Dennis

        Reply
    6. Shrila

      October 01, 2015 at 3:02 pm

      Made these today had no Greek yogart on hand so subustated banna and they were awesome. Fixing to make another batch tonight for my brother

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        October 01, 2015 at 6:42 pm

        Thanks for the feedback on the muffins! I do love that recipe, its so easily adaptable!

        Reply
    7. F

      September 27, 2015 at 12:08 pm

      4 stars
      I added 1/3 cup white chocolate chips. It made the muffins even better. The next time I make them, I will substitute margarine and butter for the oil. I found the oil left a residual unpleasant flavor. It is a good recipe.

      Reply
    8. Nicia

      August 10, 2014 at 9:29 am

      Made this a few days ago and making them again today because we are all craving them! They were A-MAZ-ING! Thank you so much for the recipe! Absolutely delicious muffins.

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        August 10, 2014 at 9:55 am

        Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed the muffins Nicia!

        Reply
    9. Meredith Petrnousek

      March 18, 2014 at 3:05 pm

      5 stars
      Excellent!!! Just made these and they are a hit!

      Reply
      • Chef Dennis Littley

        March 18, 2014 at 5:34 pm

        Happy to hear that Meredith! Thanks so much for letting me know.

        Reply
    10. Sara

      August 07, 2012 at 9:31 am

      OMG! These are AMAZING!!! The only changes I made were substituting whole wheat flour for the white and substituting unsweetened applesauce for the oil 1:1. That helped the calorie and point count since I am on weight watchers. The came out super moist and delectable!! So good! Thank you for a delicious recipe. Finally I found someone that posts great recipes that actually come out the way they say!

      Reply
      • Chef D

        August 07, 2012 at 9:58 am

        Thanks Sara! I do try to make sure my recipes work. I use a lot of them at school to teach my girls, and after years of being a reclusive chef who never shared anything, I decided to share all my secrets to make sure someone could replicate what I made at work or home. I’m happy to hear it worked out with your substitutions!

        Reply
        • sara

          August 13, 2012 at 1:53 am

          Thanks 🙂 I loved them so much, I’m making them again! And following you on pinterest. I’m glad you have decided to share you wealth with the world, so to speak. You are obviously very talented!

    11. Katie@Cozydelicious

      July 28, 2011 at 1:11 am

      These muffins look wonderful! I might try them with some whole wheat flour and a few oats thropwn in for extra fiber. I love that granola topping!

      Reply
    12. mangiabella

      July 27, 2011 at 10:19 pm

      i must admit i've been gorging on cherries too!!!! what a wonderful recipe to consider using the rest of these cherries with…..fabulous!

      Reply
    13. Laural @ Being Healthier

      July 27, 2011 at 10:18 pm

      hmmm almost cupcakes! what a fantastic recipe, I really will try this out! what a lucky lady your wife is!

      Reply
    14. Roxana GreenGirl

      July 27, 2011 at 7:12 pm

      what a great idea to have your dry ingredients already measured and ready for the morning. That makes breakfast so easy and quick
      Congrats on top 9 today, they are beautiful

      Reply
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    My name is Dennis Littley or "Chef Dennis" as I'm known both at work and across the blogosphere. As a classically trained chef with 40+ years of experience in the kitchen, I share my time-tested recipes, knowledge, and chef tips to help you create easy-to-make restaurant-quality meals in your home kitchen.

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