Title: Cherry Muffins

Bright, cheerful muffins studded with maraschino cherries and moistened with the cherry liquid from the jar. The cherry juice pulls double duty as both the liquid in the batter and the source of that distinctive pink-tinged sweetness.

This follows the classic muffin method: dry ingredients stirred together in one bowl, wet in another, then combined just until mixed. That “just until combined” part is the whole secret to a tender muffin. Overmixing develops gluten and turns your muffins tough and rubbery instead of light and fluffy.

Melted butter instead of softened adds moisture evenly throughout the batter without needing to cream anything. Stir it into the eggs and cherry liquid, pour over the dry mix, fold a few times, and you’re done.

Kitchen Tips

• Chop the maraschino cherries before adding them to the dry ingredients. Whole cherries sink and clump in the batter.
• Toss the chopped cherries with a tablespoon of the measured flour before mixing. This coating prevents them from sinking to the bottom.
• Fill muffin cups about two-thirds full. More than that and they overflow.
• Test with a toothpick at 15 minutes. These can go from done to dry quickly.

Variations

• Add a teaspoon of almond extract to the wet ingredients for a classic cherry-almond pairing.
• Fold in mini chocolate chips for cherry-chocolate muffins.
• Top each muffin with coarse sugar before baking for a crunchy, sparkly crust.