Easy Buttermilk Dried Cherry Muffins

Make yourself some homemade buttermilk muffins loaded with dried cherries and almonds for a filling breakfast treat on-the-go.

Dried cherry muffins are lightly sweet and moist with just enough crunch from the nuts to make it a family favorite in no time!

This is the kind of muffin recipe that pulls together quickly and allows for you to switch things up when desired.

Simple Ingredients

Like every great recipe, in my opinion, these muffins are a combination of simple but flavorful ingredients.

The buttermilk provides flavor and moisture that goes a long way here. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you can use the powdered buttermilk – just follow the instructions on the box. Alternatively, you can sour regular milk by adding 1 Tablespoon of white vinegar to 1 cup milk and letting it sit for a few minutes.

I used dried tart cherries in my muffins but use whatever you have on hand.

Because I think almonds and cherries are an amazing combination I used chopped whole almonds (sliced almonds would also work) and almond extract in the recipe.

You can substitute vanilla extract for the almond, if desired.

Prefer some whole grain in your breakfast breads? Substitute some or all of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour. The whole grain may result in less moist muffins but they will still be delicious.

Nuts or No?

If you don’t like or want nuts in the recipe, you can feel free to simply omit the chopped almonds.

You can also use other nuts like pecans or walnuts if you have those on hand or prefer them to almonds.

Other Optional Additions

The options to dress up the basic muffin batter are endless:

• Add up to a cup of chocolate chips or chunks for cherry chocolate chip muffins.
• Stir in up to 1 teaspoon of dried, ground spice like cinnamon to the flour mixture.
• Use your favorite streusel topping on top of the muffins
• Drizzle the baked and cooled muffins with just a bit of melted chocolate
• Pour a simple vanilla glaze over the cooled muffins

How to Serve

The great thing about muffins is that you can keep it really simple and still feel like you made something pretty great.

A warm, moist muffin and a cup of coffee is never a bad way to start a busy day.

​Serve muffins with normal breakfast fare like eggs and bacon instead of toast. Include them with some from fresh fruit, coffee, and you have a great weekend morning start.

They make a wonderful addition to lunch boxes for an afternoon treat or eat them as a midday snack to keep your energy up.

​How to Store

Place any leftover muffins in an airtight container and keep at room temperature where the muffins should stay fresh for up to 5 days.

For longer term storage, put the baked and cooled muffins into freezer bags or other containers and freeze. The muffins do freeze incredibly well so feel free to bake up a double batch.

Thaw frozen muffins on the counter prior to serving. Use up any frozen muffins within 6 months for best flavor and texture.

Looking for more easy muffin recipes that feature cherries? Try these to make the most of cherry season:

​These easy muffins feature sour cherries.

​Fresh sweet cherries stirred in vanilla muffins might be more your style and these are delicious!