Does it seem like I am posting a lot of muffin recipes? Well, that would be because I am, and with good reason. It’s Muffin Mania in my house these days. We are about to embark on back to back family vacations – a week with my family up at a cottage in Muskoka (Ontario), and then a week with my husband’s family at a beach rental in Rhode Island. It’s hard to say which family vacation will be more chaotic, what with 7 adults and 4 children in Muskoka, and 8 adults and 6 children in Rhode Island. And all of the baggage, both emotional and literal, that comes along on a family vacation.
So I arming myself with with muffins, at least for the trip down to Rhode Island. I am not sure the Canadian Border Patrol will let me declare a few dozen muffins at the Toronto airport, so the trip up to Muskoka will be sadly muffinless. I figured that having a few dozen muffins on hand might make the mornings slightly less chaotic, as we are all slathering our children in sunscreen for various outdoor activities. So I have plans for several more kinds of muffins, at least one of which will be low carb for me, and all of them are going into the freezer until we are back from Canada and packing up for RI.
As we had some cherries that were languishing in the bottom of our fridge, I thought that some sort of chocolate muffin recipe might be a good way to use them up. Most chocolate cherry recipes I found on the internet appear use dried cherries, but I didn’t see any reason why fresh cherries wouldn’t work. A search just for chocolate muffins led me to this wonderful recipe from The Joy of Baking. Of course, I didn’t do it exactly as it was written, because I never do. I decided I could tweak the recipe to up the health quotient just a tad. I used all whole wheat flour, because I had no all-purpose as it was, and I reduced the sugar to just half a cup. With the added chocolate chips and some sweet cherries, I didn’t think they needed 1 1/4 cups of sugar. And if you’ve seen my rant on cupcakes disguised as muffins, you know how I feel about overly sweet breakfast foods!
The Results: They baked up beautifully, despite being 100% whole wheat, and they don’t seem overly-dense at all. I think the buttermilk has a hand in keeping them light and tender. I had my trusty taste-testers (aka husband and kids) try them and they declared them delicious, and they quite liked the fresh cherries inside. Even the child who says she doesn’t like “things” in her muffins downed her portion happily. I suspect the chocolate chips helped!
I did take a sneak of the batter from the bowl after the muffins were in the oven, and it seemed very good. I was glad I had reduced the sugar so much, because even that single taste was quite sweet. The rest are now in the freezer, awaiting the two hour car ride to Narragansett, RI, where I am sure they will be consumed quite quickly. Now on to the next batch of muffins!
Chocolate Cherry Muffins – adapted from the Joy of Baking
1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk (I use buttermilk powder, which you add to the dry ingredients and then add the appropriate amount of water in with the wet ingredients)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup fresh cherries, pitted and coarsely chopped
3/4 cup chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 374F and grease 12-14 muffin tins, or line with paper liners (I got 14 muffins out of this recipe).
Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Stir in chocolate chips and cherries. If using buttermilk powder, add it in here with dry ingredients.
Add melted butter, beaten eggs, buttermilk (or water, if using buttermilk powder) and vanilla all at once. Stir until ingredients are just combined. Do not overmix.
Divide batter among prepared muffin tins. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
foodies at home says
Muffins always hit the spot! These remind me of a chocolate cherry cake my grandpa used to make as a child…Good combo! Have a fun and safe trip!
Amy says
Those look amazing!!
Mary says
It is hard to beat muffins as a crowd pleaser. Yours look especially delicious and I'm sure there was not a crumb left. I hope the day treats you well. Blessings…Mary
camala says
Mmmmm, Chocolate and Cherry are such a wonderful combo, these muffins look delish!
Runners Fuel says
These look great!!
[email protected] The Dirty Oven says
What a great flavor combo. They look great.
Lauren George says
Oh my goodness these look delicious! My husband is a chocolate fanatic and I know he would love these!!
baking.serendipity says
What an amazing flavor combination! These muffins look delicious ๐
Pam says
They look great – I love the combination of flavors.
Angie's Recipes says
These muffins look gorgeous! Fantastic combination of flavours.
Anna says
Yummy combination, they look fantastic.
bonnie says
i love muffins and love any new recipe..these look perfect love the combo…yummy
sweetlife
Mags says
I'm a muffin freak so there is no such thing as posting too many muffin recipes. I love that you used whole wheat flour!
The Cilantropist says
That is so exciting that your are going on TWO vacations! Have fun and enjoy your muffins! ๐
Auntie Lollie says
These look great! I can't wait to try them. Thanks for all the healthy alternatives.
The Honey Nut says
I just stumbled across your blog and I am glad I did because these muffins look super tasty! I love chocolate and cherry together ๐
marla says
Safe travels with your family. Hope you are bringing some of these yummy muffins ๐
Juli says
Surprised to find this recipe here as I think of you as low carb and gluten-free. Oldie but goodie?
Carolyn says
Very very oldie, from when I first started the blog. ๐ I was still experimenting and this was a hobby. I was low(ish) but my family was not.
Dana Duell says
Have you considered adapting this to keto / low carb?
Carolyn says
Not yet! I have a lot of old recipes I need to go back and fix… ๐