Cherry Blueberry Muffins

A restless day off with more rain and a craving for muffins. A huge bowl of bright red cherries in the fridge. Plenty to munch on and some to spare for a baked treat.

Musing a few days earlier, the combination of cherry and almonds came into mind. There was some sadly neglected almond flour in the freezer and an unopened jar of almond butter in the cupboard that I purchased a while back to make Ricki's Almond Crusted Root Vegetable "Fries" (soon, as I have been thinking of the possibilities for months).

Turns out cherries and almonds are a winning combination, especially when you toss some blueberries, vanilla and lemon into the mix. The nutty flavour from the almond butter compliments the sweet cherries and blueberries perfectly. This is one of the finest muffin recipes I have come up with to date and they don't contain much sugar either, which is an added bonus. Packed full of luscious fruit, even sugar fiends will be delighted. I might add these are a particularly enjoyable breakfast option.

Cherry Blueberry Muffins with Lemon and Vanilla and Almond

1 1/2 cups of unbleached white flour
1/2 cup of almond flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/8 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 cup of sugar
2 teaspoons of lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon of sea salt
1 cup of yogurt (I used goat milk yogurt)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon of lemon juice
2 teaspoons of vanilla
4 tablespoons of almond butter
1 cup of pitted cherries, roughly chopped
1/2 cup of blueberries

Grease twelve regular sized muffin cups well with butter or oil.

In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, lemon zest and salt. Make a well in the center of the ingredients and set aside.

In another bowl, combine the yogurt with the lemon juice. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Now add the vanilla and almond butter and whisk until well combined. Pour this mixture into the dry ingredients and stir just to combine. Gently fold in the cherries and blueberries.

Divide the batter evenly into the prepared muffin cups and bake in a preheat 350 degree oven for 20 - 25 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean. Leave the muffins in the pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Yields 12 berry filled muffins.

More berry muffins from Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen:
Blueberry Goat Cheese Muffins
Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins
Raspberry Cornmeal Muffins

On the top of the reading stack: Green Hell: How Environmentalists Plan to Ruin Your Life and What You Can Do to Stop Them by Steve Milloy

Audio accompaniment: Diamonds on the Inside by Ben Harper