Maraschino Cherry Muffins

These little cherry muffins are filled with chopped Maraschino cherries and topped with a sweet cherry glaze.  

These cherry muffins are definitely a sweet treat and will be a big hit with the little ones. 

I had some leftover Maraschino cherries from making a sheet pan banana split cheesecake, just enough to make these muffins, I thought it would be fun to try making some unabashedly pink little muffins.

The cherries are so bright and red, and remind me of birthday parties, ice cream sundaes, and sneaking the cherries out of my parents' and grandparents' cocktails. 

Granted, these are not the "real" Marachino cherries from Italy, which I like to save for cocktails. These are more of a "Shirley Temple" or ice cream parlor type of cherry. Just a fun treat! 

These muffins also include chopped nuts both in the muffins and on top of the cherry glaze. You can use any chopped nuts you prefer, such as almonds or pecans. 

I found a jar of mixed chopped nuts meant for sprinkling on ice cream sundaes in the same section as the cherries near the ice cream. It is a mixture of all kinds of nuts chopped into a perfect size for sprinkling. 

These muffins get their pink hue from adding a little of the syrup from the jar of cherries. You only need a couple of tablespoons of the syrup in the batter (plus, there's no need to rinse or dry the chopped cherries as they will also add a bit more color). 

You can serve these muffins plain or top them with a glaze that is a mixture of confectioners' sugar and some of the reserved cherry syrup from the jar. 

Make-ahead tip:

You can make these muffins in advance and freeze them, but do not glaze them until after you've thawed them. 

Storing tip:

Sometimes fruit filled muffins will get a little "damp" when they are stored. To prevent this. Line the bottom of your air tight container with a couple of layers of paper towels before adding the cooled muffins. 

More muffins with cherries:

Sour Cherry Muffins with Coconut Streusel

Date, Prune, and Dried Cherry Muffins

Marachino Cherry Muffin recipe variations:

You can always leave out the nuts if someone is not a fan. 

You could also use the fancy Luxardo Marachino cherries in these, but those cherries are pretty expensive. 

I made 24 mini muffins. You could make 12 full-sized muffins. Just increase the baking time by five to ten minutes. 

You can also skip the glaze for a less sweet muffin. 

These muffins can be made with or without paper liners. If you are making these for kids, they'd probably love cute and colorful paper liners. Plus, it's fun to peel them off. 

• Dutch Apple Pie Muffins from Jolene's Recipe Journal
• Maraschino Cherry Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Mini Peanut Butter Cup Muffins from Food Lust People Love
• Pizza Muffins from Palatable Pastime
• Small Batch Zucchini Blueberry Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sourdough Cinnamon Buttermilk Muffins from Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Vegan Jackfruit Muffins from Magical Ingredients

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all of our lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday can be found on our home page.

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Maraschino Cherry Muffins

Yield: 24 mini muffins

Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories

Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 35 Min

These little cherry muffins are filled with chopped Maraschino cherries and topped with a sweet cherry glaze.

Ingredients

For the Muffins

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup melted and cooled butter
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 2 tablespoons Maraschino cherry syrup from the jar
• 1 egg
• 4 1/2 ounces (1 cup) all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup chopped Maraschino cherries
• 1/4 cup chopped nuts of your choice

For the Glaze and Topping

• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 to 4 teaspoons Maraschino cherry syrup
• 3 tablespoons chopped nuts of your choice

Instructions

To Make the Muffins

1. Heat your oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 24 cavity mini muffin pan with spray oil, or line each cavity with paper liners. 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, butter, milk, cherry syrup, and egg. 
3. In another medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. 
4. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in the cherries and the nuts. 
5. Divide the batter among the muffin tin cavities. 
6. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. 
7. Turn the muffins out of the pan and cool completely on a wire rack. 

To Make the Glaze

1. Whisk together the sugar and the syrup and drizzle over the muffins. 
2. Sprinkle with a few of the chopped nuts. Let the glaze solidify before storing the muffins. 

Nutrition Facts

Calories

173.62

Fat (grams)

9.29

Sat. Fat (grams)

5.17

Carbs (grams)

22.20

Fiber (grams)

0.43

Net carbs

21.78

Sugar (grams)

15.49

Protein (grams)

1.43

Sodium (milligrams)

118.00

Cholesterol (grams)

28.21

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2021/08/maraschino-cherry-muffins-muffinmonday.html

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Recipe adapted from Betty Crocker