I’ll admit it…This recipe took two tries.
In fact I wouldn’t even call today’s post the same recipe. By eliminating orange juice from the original recipe, and adding maraschino cherry juice, along with consulting with my well worn copy of Joy of Cooking
Let’s take a look at these DIY improvements that can be used as a reference for future muffins:
Butter/Oil
The original recipe only had 2 Tablespoons of oil. According to the Joy of Cooking
Temperature
The original recipe called for the oven to be at 400°. This is a standard temperature to bake muffins, but since my oven runs hot, I usually shorten my baking time to account for it. This didn’t work. I brought my muffins out halfway through baking because the streusel topping was being burned to a blackened crisp where it fell onto the pan, and alongside the paper line. The muffins also ended up misshapen due to the high heat. So, for this recipe I lowered the temperature a whole 50°. The streusel turned out perfectly, and the muffins mushroomed as they should.
Liquid
The ratio of 2 cups dry ingredients to 1 cup liquid served me well in this recipe. In the original I used only 2/3 cup orange juice…not enough. The flavor didn’t end up shining through as desired and the batter was thick. For this recipe I decided to make use of delicious maraschino cherry juice. This really boosts the flavor and moisture of the muffin, and since the juice is already sweet, I used a little less sugar to balance the sweetness.
Mixing the INGREDIENTS
This is a case where the correct terminology makes an important difference. In the original recipe, when combining the wet and dry ingredients, it says to “beat vigorously for 30 seconds”. While I knew better than to actually pull out my beaters and beat the batter, I did stir it with a wooden spoon for the full 30 seconds. The result was a batter that was pourable like a ribbon. This was incorrect because the gluten was overworked and caused the muffins to become coarse. For this recipe, I made sure to stir just until combined. It is important to be gentle, and allow there to be bubbles, and even a small amount of dry ingredients visible in the batter.
Cherries
Finally, in the original cherry blossom muffin recipe I place chopped cherries into the batter. To me this didn’t symbolize blossoming at all, so instead I placed a half cherry hidden inside the muffin, so when eaten it epitomizes a blossoming cherry in your mouth!
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 12 muffins | 25 minutes |
| Cook Time |
| 15 minutes |
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These scrumptious muffins are baked with maraschino cherry juice, it has a cherry in the middle for a surprise, and it is has a cinnamon streusel topping.
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- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup maraschino cherry juice from a 7 oz jar
- 12 small cherries or 6 large cherries cut in half
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 Tablespoon butter melted
- Preheat oven to 350°, prepare 12 cup muffin pan with cooking spray or butter.
- Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl.
- Reserve cherries from jar, and place 1/2 cup of the maraschino cherry juice in a medium bowl. Add remaining liquid ingredients and whisk thoroughly.
- Add liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Do not over-mix.
- Place 2 Tablespoons muffin batter in each cup. Add a cherry in the middle of each, and place an additional 1 Tablespoon batter to cover the cherry.
- Combine all streusel ingredients in a medium bowl with a pastry blender, or a fork. When small crumbs form, add 1 Tablespoon to the top of each muffin, and press down lightly.
- Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Remove when a toothpick can be pulled from the center of the muffin cleanly.
Can also add 1/2 cup of choppped pecans if desired. Also, the muffin batter be made ahead, placed in the muffin pan and then refrigerated over night to bake in the morning.