Cherry, Oat, and Brown Sugar Muffins

A little bit of sweet, a little bit of tart, and a little bit of heartiness. These muffins are my kind of breakfast. The best part is the oat and brown sugar topping that bakes up crispy and caramelized.

When you first mix up the batter, it will look too runny. After a long refrigeration though, the oats absorb some liquid and plump up to make the right consistency. So be sure to plan for refrigeration of 6 hours. Or, better yet, overnight. Because believe me, you’ll want to be smelling these in your oven baking on a weekend morning.

Cherry, Oat, and Brown Sugar Muffins

 

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Prep time

6 hours 15 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

7 hours

 

Serves: About 1.5 dozen

Ingredients

• For the muffins:
• 3½ cups rolled oats
• 1¼ cup sour cream
• 1 cup whole milk
• ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 2 large eggs, whisked
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• ¾ teaspoon almond extract
• ⅔ cup granulated sugar
• ¾ cup packed brown sugar
• 1½ cups canned or fresh dark cherries (if using canned, drain before using), roughly chopped
• 1¼ cups white whole wheat flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 
  
• For the topping:
• ¼ cup rolled oats
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Make the muffins:
2. In a mixing bowl, stir together oats, sour cream, milk, butter, eggs, vanilla, almond extract, sugars, and cherries with a wooden spoon, mixing until well combined.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining dry muffin ingredients. Gently stir into the above wet ingredients until just combined. Mixture will be very wet. Cover tightly with plastic wrap or place in an airtight container. Place in refrigerator and let sit for 6-8 hours or overnight.
4. When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line two muffin tins with paper liners and spray with non-stick baking spray. Pull muffin mix out of the fridge (it should be much thicker now). Fill muffin tins ¾ way full.
   
5. Make the Topping:
6. In a small bowl, stir together all the topping ingredients. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the muffin batter. Place in preheated oven and bake 35-45 minutes, or until muffins are set and toothpick entered in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool until able to handle. Remove muffins and cool completely.

Notes

Adapted from Flour, Too by Joanne Chang

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