Joey really spoiled me this year for Mother's Day, and he bought me a Kindle. Even though I love reading, I wasn't sure if I wanted an e-reader. I just love books, and I didn't want to give them up. But I am officially a convert. It is so much fun, and it's definitely easier to pack than the 10 books I take on vacation. Anyway, as he was showing me some of the features, he showed me how you can preview a book before you buy it. Apparently one of my suggested items was The Clinton Street Baking Company. As I scrolled through the pages, I somehow managed to buy it by accident. And then even though I had the option to cancel my order, I was so used to my iPhone that I tried to cancel by touch screen - which clearly doesn't work. So I was "stuck" with another cookbook...
It turned out to have been a great mistake though, because this is a really fun cookbook - lots of recipes for breakfast treats, desserts, and even a few sandwiches and savory items. I mentally flagged several recipes, but with cherries coming into season now, I couldn't pass up these muffins. They don't have much added sugar, but they are plenty sweet thanks to the cherries and the crumb topping. I think you could even make them a little healthier by using Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream, subbing part of the flour for whole wheat flour, and leaving off the crumb topping. But made as listed here, they are really delicious, and they still tasted fresh for several days after baking.
Even though I love my Kindle, I don't plan to buy cookbooks for it - I love being able to write in the margins, and not worry about splatters and spills so much. But it was definitely worth it for these muffins!
Cherry Crumb Muffins
adapted from Clinton Street Baking Company
makes 10 muffins
- 4 Tbs unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 cup fresh cherries, pitted and quartered
- 10 cherries, pitted and left whole
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/8 tsp cinnamon
- 2 Tbs unsalted butter, cubed
Cream the butter, sugar, and almond extract together in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed.
Sift the remaining dry ingredients together into a medium bowl.
Add the egg to the butter mixture and blend until combined.
Add 1/4 cup of the sour cream to the mixer, followed by half the dry ingredients, mixing and repating with remaining sour cream and flour mixture. Mix until the batter is just combined.
Turn off the mixer and fold in the cherries with a spatula.
To make the crumb topping, combine all the ingredients into a small bowl, and using a fork or your fingers, blend together.
Divide the batter evenly among 10 muffin cups. Top each muffin with 1 Tablespoon of the crumb topping and 1 cherry.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pans, then remove to serve or cool completely.
