Oatmeal Cherry Muffins
Posted by twopeaskitchen on January 21, 2009
Due to my determined procrastination on schoolwork over the holiday weekend, I had heaps of reading and translating to do once I got off work this afternoon. Let me tell you, there’s nothing like things that need to be done to make me want to bake instead. (It’s stress relief! or I need a break from studying!) But I was (fairly) studious this afternoon and accomplished most of the reading and the Latin translation for classes tomorrow.
What to do to celebrate such a productive day? Bake, of course! I actually made some muffins on Sunday (slightly modified from Joy the Baker’s recipe again– I used dried cranberries instead of blueberries). My mornings are usually pretty rushed, and I figured muffins would be an easy and healthy thing to grab for breakfast on my way out the door. I should have realized that between my roommate and me, these muffins would not last until the end of the week. Breakfast? Snack? Dessert? Those muffins have been all of those things for the past three days.
Needless to say, I needed more muffins to make it through this week! Alas, my supply of dried cranberries is all but depleted. The apple bread over at pete bakes is most inspiring, but I ate my last apple yesterday (oops). And my bananas aren’t quite ripe enough for my liking yet. But lo, I had some cherries in my refrigerator that were threatening to be used or to spoil. Excellent.
These turned out just lovely. The cherries were wonderfully plump, and the juice lent a nice flavor to the muffin (which still has a slightly apple-taste, but doesn’t really compete with the cherry). I adore cherries, so maybe next time I have a bunch I’ll attempt to replace the applesauce entirely with pureed cherries. (I bet this would make them nice and pink, too! Ooh la la!) Recipe follows.
Oatmeal Cherry Muffins
(modified from Joy the Baker)
3/4 to 1 cup cherries, halved and pitted
approx. 1/2 tablespoon granulated sugar
approx. 1/4 cup orange juice
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
scant 1/2 cup nonfat milk
sliced almonds (optional)
Preheat oven to 375. Combine cherries and sugar in a skillet over low heat. Warm until cherries release juices, about five minutes. Add orange juice. Bring to a boil until liquid thickens slightly (this took me less than a minute). Remove from heat.
In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients (flour through salt). In a medium bowl, combine remaining ingredients, except almonds. Add about 1/8 cup to 1/4 cup cherry liquid. Fold into dry ingredients just until combined. Stir in cherries gently. Fill muffin cups and top with sliced almonds.
Bake 16-18 minutes. Yield: 12 muffins.
