Chocolate and cherries combine in these incredibly easy to make Chocolate Cherry Muffins! With bits of cherry throughout a double chocolate muffin, what’s not to love? Enjoy for a morning breakfast, on the go snack, or evening sweet treat!
Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
Muffins are always a winner in my house! From Banana Cream Cheese Muffins to Carrot Cake Muffins, or classic Bakery Blueberry Muffins, I love them all. Since I have quite the chocolate sweet tooth, these cherry chocolate muffins are located securely in my top three favorites! A tender chocolate muffin with mini chocolate chips throughout and bits of fresh cherries. Truth be told, it’s hard to stop at just one muffin!
Jump to:
- Why You’ll Love these Double Chocolate Cherry Muffins
- Ingredients Needed to make these easy Chocolate Cherry Muffins
- How to make this Chocolate Cherry Muffin Recipe
- Tips for the best chocolate cherry muffins
- Cherry and Chocolate Muffins FAQ’s
- Storage Tips
- Check out these other great muffin recipes
- Double Chocolate Cherry Muffins
Why You’ll Love these Double Chocolate Cherry Muffins
- Not overly sweet– you may read the recipe and cringe at 1 cup of sugar, but they really don’t taste overly sweet. Of course, you can decrease sugar by up to ½ cup making them even less sweet.
- Easy to make– from start to oven, these chocolate and cherry muffins are ready in under 10 minutes!
- Perfect for any occasion– enjoy anytime of the day! Yes, chocolate for breakfast! Or serve if having guests over!
- Freezes perfectly– I love making a double batch and freezing them for on the go treats! My kids simply place one in the microwave for about 30 seconds and have a quick breakfast before school.
Ingredients Needed to make these easy Chocolate Cherry Muffins
See printable recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts and step by step directions.
- Flour– all-purpose flour is best in this recipe, it is the foundation of the muffins
- Sugar– white granulated sugar, feel free to decrease by up to ½ cup if desired
- Cocoa Powder– unsweetened cocoa powder is best, dark cocoa powder can be used too
- Baking Powder/ Baking Soda/ Salt– ensure freshness as this gives the muffins their rise
- Sour Cream– if you don’t have any on hand, Greek yogurt works great too
- Buttermilk– see substitution tip in FAQ’s below
- Vegetable Oil– this adds the moisture to the muffins
- Eggs– large eggs, at room temperature, beaten
- Vanilla Extract– you can also use almond extract if desired
- Cherries– fresh dark sweet cherries, stem removed, pitted and chopped into small pieces. I do not recommend using frozen cherries in this recipe.
- Chocolate Chips– I used mini chocolate chips, use dark chocolate chips to make these dark chocolate cherry muffins.
How to make this Chocolate Cherry Muffin Recipe
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a muffin tin with paper (or silicone) liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, buttermilk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla.
- Pour wet ingredients mixture into dry ingredients mixture and stir until just combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chips and cherries.
- Fill prepared muffin cups with batter, filling about ½ way until all liners are filled.
- Place muffin pan into preheated oven and bake about 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted into center of muffins.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly on a wire rack before enjoying!
Tips for the best chocolate cherry muffins
- Use room temperature ingredients. This helps everything to combine together perfectly and easily.
- To remove the seeds from the cherries, use a cherry pitter. This makes things so much easier. Of course, if you don’t have one, you can also use a paring knife to cut cherry in half and pop seed out.
- Make sure you measure your flour accurately. Adding too much will cause these to become dry and dense.
- Ensure ingredients are fresh. Plan on replacing your baking powder and soda every 6 months to ensure freshness.
Cherry and Chocolate Muffins FAQ’s
Can I use frozen cherries in this recipe?
You can, however, I really don’t recommend it. Frozen cherries release more liquid when baking and change the texture of these. Fresh cherries offer more flavor when baked than frozen cherries.
How do I keep these cherry chocolate chip muffins fluffy?
The number one tip I can offer is to NOT OVER-MIX. I know everyone always say to mix until just combined, but this is the key to success. Once those ingredients are combined, no more mixing. This keeps the texture fluffy, airy, and almost cake like.
How to I pit the cherries since I am using fresh?
I highly recommend investing in a cherry pitter! They aren’t expensive and save you so much time. If you do not have one, nor want to get one, simply using a knife and slice the cherry in half. Remove the seed and proceed on.
What do I use if I don’t have buttermilk?
Truth be told, I never seem to have buttermilk on hand. For this recipe, since it calls for ½ cup of buttermilk, place 1 ½ teaspoon lemon juice in a measuring cup. Add milk to fill to the ½ cup line. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes and this mixture is the perfect buttermilk substitution.
Storage Tips
- Once fully cooled, these chocolate cherry muffins can be stored in an airtight container up to 3 days.
- If you would like to refrigerate them, they are good for up to 5 days.
- To freeze these muffins, allow to fully cool before placing in a freezer safe container up to 3 months.
- Allow to thaw and reheat in microwave until desired temperature is reached.
Check out these other great muffin recipes
Mini Banana Muffins– quick and easy to prepare, making them the perfect breakfast or snack option! Classic banana bread made into conveniently sized mini muffins to enjoy anytime!
Pecan Pie Muffins– made using only 5 ingredients and can be served for breakfast or dessert! Tastes like pecan pie in the form of a bite sized muffin!
Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins– moist, flavorful, and have just the right number of juicy berries throughout!
Easy Blackberry Muffins– simple, yet flavorful and moist muffin, packed with juicy blackberries throughout.
Copycat Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins– packed with flavor and include a sweet cream cheese filling inside. Light, fluffy textured muffins that are even better than the original.
Death by Chocolate Muffins– these moist and flavor packed muffins come together in no time and are perfect for any sweet tooth craving!
These Chocolate Cherry Muffins made with cocoa powder are a delightful treat that combines the rich and deep flavors of chocolate with the sweet and tangy burst of cherries. The addition of cocoa powder not only enhances the chocolaty taste but also adds a moist and tender texture to these muffins. Whether enjoyed as a breakfast indulgence or an afternoon snack, these muffins are sure to satisfy any craving for something decadent and comforting. So why not whip up a batch of these treats and indulge in a little chocolatey goodness?
Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
Double Chocolate Cherry Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 ⅓ cups flour all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- ⅓ cup cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sour cream
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract or almond
- 1 ½ cups fresh cherries pitted and diced
- 1 cup chocolate chips mini, dark, any type
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a muffin pan with paper (or silicone) liners.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sour cream, buttermilk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract.
- Fold in the cherries and chocolate chips, mixing until just combined.
- Fill the prepared muffin cups with the batter about ½ way.
- Place muffin pan into preheated oven and bake for about 25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean when inserted into center of muffin.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before moving to a cool rack.
Leave a Reply