Variations On A Cherry Muffin

Yep. Using up the fruit before it goes bad. There are a bunch of desserts that I would love to try, but honestly, how many desserts can two people eat? I don't think I want to know the answer to that.

Enter the muffin. It's handy for breakfast (or a snack). It may not be exactly "healthy", but it's probably healthier than a cupcake. You can put almost anything in them. Like fruit no longer at its peak. This base recipe is really easy and goes together really fast.

The finished product is not your average gargantu-cakey-café-muffin, but a modest-sized old-school muffin. The kind Mom might have made, had she made muffins. These particular muffins are headed straight for the freezer. It seems kind of sad (and also irresponsible) to send them off without trying one first. At its best. Warm from the oven. With butter.

Adapted from the Best-Ever Muffins variations on page 87 of the BH&G Homemade Bread Book, 1973. If you don't have it, here's a link to a very similar recipe of theirs online: Better Homes and Gardens Basic Muffin Recipe

Cherry-Blueberry Muffins
Notes: Start with the Blueberry-Lemon Muffin variation. I added a half cup or so of chopped cherries to the cup of blueberries already going in. I didn't really measure either. I didn't measure the lemon zest (I almost never do), just zested a whole small lemon; so there's probably about 1 tablespoon in there. 

The recipe says to dip the tops of the warm muffins in melted butter and then in sugar. Wow. That sounds so good, but since they're going into the freezer I decided to skip that bit. Instead, I just sprinkled some sugar over the top of them before I put them in the oven.

Cherry-Orange-Walnut Muffins
Notes: Combining the Banana-Nut Muffins and the Date-Orange-Nut Muffins recipes, I replaced the banana with a cup or so of chopped cherries. I used about a half cup of chopped walnuts, and I substituted orange juice for the milk.