Muffins & Pastries

Orange Cherry Muffins

Fresh orange juice and zest, with chopped dried cherries, flavor these easy-to-make muffins that are a great on-the-go breakfast, afternoon snack….or just because.

I used fresh blood oranges in my muffins, but any variety of orange can be used. If you don’t have dried cherries, Craisins are a great alternative to the dried cherries.

Orange extract is used to give these even more orange flavor, but vanilla extract can be used instead.

Orange Cherry Muffins

Print Recipe
Serves: 12 Cooking Time: 14-15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup white granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup dried cherries, cut into fine pieces (or Craisins)
  • 1 egg, room temperature
  • 1 cup vanilla yogurt, room temperature
  • 5 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons orange extract
  • heaping 1/4 cup fresh orange juice and the zest from the oranges
  • TOPPING:
  • 1 tablespoon coarse sugar

Instructions

1

Preheat oven to 425-degrees and line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners. Set aside. In a large bowl place a sifter in the middle of the bowl. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg into the sifter. Sift. Mix in your chopped, dried cherries into your dry ingredients. Set bowl aside.

2

In a medium sized bowl mix together the egg, kefir, oil, orange juice, orange zest and orange extract. Once ingredients are fully incorporated, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until just barely combined.

3

Fill cupcake liners 3/4 full of batter and sprinkle coarse sugar on top. Bake in 425-degree oven for 5-minutes. After 5-minutes, leave muffins in the oven, but reduce the oven temperature to 375-degrees and continue baking for an additional 9-10 minutes. Muffins are done when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes back without raw batter on it.

4

Remove baked muffins from the oven and transfer muffins to a wire rack to finish cooling.

Notes

Sour cream or buttermilk can be substituted for the vanilla yogurt. Muffins can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days or frozen for up to 3 weeks.

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22 Comments

  • Reply
    pglooney
    April 11, 2019 at 9:23 AM

    can’t beat that classic orange cherry combo.

    • Reply
      Kelly
      April 12, 2019 at 6:34 AM

      Thanks Patrick! XOXO

  • Reply
    Kelly | Foodtasia
    April 11, 2019 at 9:42 AM

    Kelly, these muffins look fantastic! Love the orange and cherry. And the sugar topping adds a lovely crunch!

    • Reply
      Kelly
      April 12, 2019 at 6:34 AM

      Thank you Kelly!! I love the sugar on top too πŸ™‚ XOXO

  • Reply
    GiGi Eats Celebrities
    April 13, 2019 at 10:21 PM

    If you did not tell me, I would have NEVER known that these were Orange/Cherry flavored! It’s a surprise smack in the mouth! πŸ˜€

    • Reply
      Kelly
      April 18, 2019 at 9:55 AM

      Hehehe thank you! Full of fruity flavor lol πŸ˜‰ XOXO

  • Reply
    Laura
    April 15, 2019 at 12:49 PM

    Oooh, I love orange + cherry! Not a combo I’ve ever cooked together, and these muffins look like the perfect marriage for the two! I love the scent of orange in baked goods, so I imagine these are wonderful!

    • Reply
      Kelly
      April 18, 2019 at 9:56 AM

      Thank you Laura! it was a new combo to me too!! XOXO

  • Reply
    Ashika | Gardening Foodie
    April 15, 2019 at 2:17 PM

    Lol, I am also on a muffin for breakfast mission…these look amazing Kelly, I am absolutely loving the delicious combination of orange and cherry πŸ™‚

    • Reply
      Kelly
      April 18, 2019 at 9:56 AM

      Thank you Ashika!! I love muffins for breakfast too πŸ™‚ XOXO

  • Reply
    Katherine | Love In My Oven
    April 15, 2019 at 3:47 PM

    I feel like sitting outside in the sunshine eating one of these muffins!! Such a summery muffin, Kelly! I love it! Orange and cherries are soooo good together πŸ™‚

    • Reply
      Kelly
      April 18, 2019 at 9:57 AM

      Thank you Katherine!! These are definitely perfect for Spring and Summer! πŸ™‚

  • Reply
    Maria | kitchenathoskins
    April 15, 2019 at 8:00 PM

    Orange and cherry is such a delicious combo. I love the perfect domed shape on these beauties and that crunchy sugar topping is the finishing touch:)

    • Reply
      Kelly
      April 18, 2019 at 9:57 AM

      Awwww thank you Maria!! XOXXOO

  • Reply
    Amy
    April 16, 2019 at 12:46 PM

    Oh, how yummy! I love blood oranges and with the cherries they sound so delicious together. Looks like I know what I am having 9in the morning for breakfast!

    • Reply
      Kelly
      April 18, 2019 at 9:58 AM

      Thanks Amy!! I hope you make a batch of these πŸ™‚ XOXO

  • Reply
    megha
    April 20, 2019 at 4:08 AM

    very nice muffins recipe thank you for shearing keep it up.

    • Reply
      Kelly
      April 23, 2019 at 5:58 AM

      Thank you Megha!!

  • Reply
    Nina Newton
    April 25, 2019 at 9:21 AM

    Hello Kelly! Just stopping by to let you know that I featured this sweet blog post at the Thursday Favorite Things blog Hop and Linky Party this week. Thanks for sharing at the party! Can’t wait for the opportunity to try this recipe. Stop by and see the other features here:
    http://vintagemamascottage.com/2019/04/25/favorite-things-for-a-spring-day/

    Nina @ Vintage Mama’s Cottage

    • Reply
      Kelly
      May 1, 2019 at 8:10 AM

      AWESOME!!! Thank you for making this one of your features!! πŸ™‚ XOXO

  • Reply
    Audrey
    April 28, 2019 at 9:44 PM

    These muffins sound fantastic. I love orange and the topping sounds so good and simple!

    • Reply
      Kelly
      May 1, 2019 at 8:11 AM

      Thanks Audrey!! I love a simple sugar topping!! XOXO

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