Since Mr. Nomad is away on business I have plenty of time on the weekends to experiment with different recipes. I could seriously spend an entire Sunday in the kitchen baking up dish after dish! And being a good neighbor I love to share these goodies so feel free to stop by anytime for a bite!
I’m always searching for something sweet to bake that can be my (temporary) go-to sweet tooth fix until I find a better dish to make. I also love when a recipe can be adapted based on the different ingredients that I have on hand. The last thing I want to do is run to the market mid-baking to pick up an irreplaceable ingredient. Here’s what inspired me…
ALMONDS + CHERRIES = HEAVEN IN A BITE
I spent the morning whipping up Almond Cherry Muffins. The tartness of the cherries beautifully complemented the sweetness of the muffins and the almond extract…. Oh my! Oh my! I think I’m in love with these muffins! The laban makes the cake light and fluffy.
Remember to toss the cherries with a little bit of flour before adding them to the batter.
This will prevent them from clumping together. Don’t have cherries? How about dried apricots or pineapples? Carrefour has an excellent selection of dried fruits that would be an awesome to dried cherries. But if you love cherries, don’t worry. They have those too!
When pouring the muffins into the muffin tins, make sure to evenly distribute the cherries. The worst thing is to bite into a filling-less cupcake. It’s so sad… Eating muffins should never be sad.
This recipe works perfectly as mini muffins too. Since they’re bite-sized, there’s no reason to stop at one! Mini muffins are great for the kids too or when you need to bake for a crowd. While this recipe will make you 16 regular-sized muffins, it’ll make 96 minis! Awesome!!
Serves 16
The perfect mix of almonds and cherries makes this an easy to make and delicious sweet tooth fix!
15Prep Time
45Total Time
Save Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 Cups Sugar
- 1 Lemon, zested
- 1 1/2 Cups Flour
- 2t Baking Powder
- Pinch of Salt
- 3 Eggs
- 1/2 Cup Laban or Greek Yogurt
- 1/2t Vanilla Extract
- 1t Almond Extract
- 1/3 Cup Sunflower or Vegetable Oil
- 3 1/2T Butter, melted
- 4oz Dried Cherries, chopped
- Handful of Almonds, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Toss cranberries with a little bit of flour.
- Use your hands to combine sugar and lemon zest, rubbing them together until the sugar smells citrusy.
- Add flour, salt and baking powder. Mix well.
- In a separate bowl combine eggs, yogurt, vanilla and almonds. Pour into flour mixture, stirring until just combined.
- Fold in the oil, butter and cranberries.
- Spoon the batter into paper lined muffin tins. Sprinkle chopped almonds on top. Bake 18 minutes for mini muffins or 24 minutes for regular-sized muffins. Muffins are done with a toothpick inserted comes out clean and the tops of the muffins are springy.
Notes
These taste best if eaten warm!
