Cherry Almond Muffins with Streusel Topping

We are at the height of Cherry season in the Pacific Northwest. It is a special time of year, as Cherries are one of my very favorite fruits, and they are totally unavailable the rest of the year. I will sit around and eat them by the bag full spitting those seeds into my garden. Not a pretty picture? I know, sorry. Every year I am surprised that a tree hasn’t sprouted from the previous year. It happened once for my little brother when we were young. It is now a 15 foot cherry tree in my parent’s front yard. True story.

Anyways, enough about me and my bad spitting habits, and more about the gorgeous red bing cherries overloading my fridge. Since a girl can only eat so many raw cherries (seriously), I have spent the summer thinking of new ways to use the precious red fruit.

So far, I have made the following luscious cherry recipes this summer
Focaccia Bread with Cherries and Goat Cheese and Red Wine Caramelized Onions

Orzo Salad with Cherries and Feta cheese

Cherry Mint Lemonade

And here are a few from last summer:

Grilled Salmon with Cherry Jalapeno Butter Sauce

Cherry Clafouti

Now, I finally get to these muffins. My girls are as crazy about muffins as I am, and I love that I can bake a batch and feed them a homemade breakfast all week. This version features crunchy almonds, juicy cherries and a crumbly, sweet streusel topping. They are tender, moist and has a bit of zip from the buttermilk.- they are totally delicious and I hope you will try them before the cherries are all gone!

Cherry Almond Muffins with streusel topping, makes 20 muffins
1 ½ cups sugar
½ cup oil
2 eggs
1 Tbs almond extract
2 ½ cups flour
2 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup slivered almonds
2 cups cherries

Streusel Topping
1 cup flour
½ cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of nutmeg
7 tsp butter, melted

Preheat the oven to 375. Prepare two muffin pans with baking spray.

Stem and pit the cherries.

Slice them into quarters and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar and the oil.

Add the eggs and almond extract and whisk to combine, (scrape the sides down).

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. (flour, baking powder and salt)

Add the dry ingredients to the batter and stir until partially combined.

Add the buttermilk to the batter and stir until completely combined and smooth.

Add the almonds and whisk to combine.

Fold the cherries into the batter.

Scoop the batter (I used an ice cream scoop) into the prepared muffin tins (about ¾ full.)

To make the streusel topping, combine the dry ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine.

Add the melted butter and stir with a fork until it creates a crumbly topping.

Sprinkle the streusel topping over the muffin tops, dividing evenly among the 20 muffins.

Bake the muffins at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes or until just baked through and the tops are golden.

Enjoy!