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–+ servings

Cherry Muffins with Salty Pistachio Sugar

5 | 15 reviews
These muffins are everything I love about summer fruit. The cherries bake down into bursts of sweet, jammy flavor dotted throughout the moist, not-too-sweet muffin base. You can use this recipe for any fruit you have, but I find the crispy, salty-sweet pistachio topping goes particularly well with cherries. It's one of my favorite summer baking recipes, but if you have frozen berries, it's just as delicious out of season, too.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 33 minutes
Servings: 6 jumbo muffins or 12 regular muffins

Equipment

  • 1 cherry pitter
  • 1 whisk
  • 1 parchment paper
  • 1 jumbo muffin tin
  • 1 chef's knife

Ingredients

For the cherry muffins
  • 2 large eggs
  • 113 grams salted butter, 1/2 cup, melted
  • 110 grams granulated sugar, 1/2 cup
  • 110 grams dark brown sugar, 1/2 cup
  • 85 grams full-fat greek yogurt, 1/3 cup
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 280 grams all-purpose flour, 2 cups
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt, use half if using Morton's
  • 80 grams milk of choice, 1/3 cup
  • 320 grams fresh sweet cherries, pits removed, 2 cups
For the salty pistachio sugar
  • 28 grams unsalted pistachios, 2 tablespoons, shelled
  • 50 grams turbinado sugar , 1/4 cup
  • 1 teaspoon flaky salt

Instructions 

  1. Position a rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 375°F.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together 2 eggs, 113 grams of melted butter, 110 grams of granulated sugar, 110 grams of brown sugar, 85 grams of greek yogurt and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.
  3. Add the 280 grams of all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, and 1 teaspoon of salt.
  4. Begin stirring this into a smooth batter, adding the 80 grams of milk in splashes at a time to keep the batter loose.
  5. When the batter is smooth, set aside. Pit and halve the cherries then fold them into the batter.
  6. Finely chop up 28 grams of pistachios and add them to a small dish. Add in 50 grams of turbinado sugar and 1 teaspoon of flaky salt. Mix this together with your fingers.
  7. Line a muffin tin with parchment paper cups and scoop the batter until it is just shallow of the top of each tin. Sprinkle each muffin with enough pistachio sugar to cover the top.
  8. Bake for 30-33 minutes if you are making jumbo muffins, or 20-25 minutes if you are making standard sized muffins. You will know they are done when you no longer hear any "bubbling" of the batter and the tops are set. (The toothpick trick won't work here, unfortunately, you'll run into some cherries!)
  9. Serve warm or serve later, it's up to you!