Crazy-Easy 3-Ingredient Sour Cherry Muffins (Spoiler: They’re Amazing)
You know how much I love my sour cherry trees and how sour cherry recipes live rent free in my head. These 3-Ingredient Sour Cherry Muffins are the next recipe on the long list in my brain that I had to test over and over till they were perfect.
They’re sweet, but not overly sweet. Just sweet enough so that the balance of sweet and tart is stinkin’ ideal. And the crunchy sugary topping that I say is optional, but really, I feel like it’s not, levels up the muffins to something kind of epic if you ask me.
🛒Ingredient Notes
The ingredients are the same as with my 4-ingredient Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins (cuz you know I’m obsessed with my rhubarb plants as well) – but had to try it with these juicy tart cherries instead.
- ✅Sour Cherries: I use the ones growing in my backyard, but I realize you can buy jarred sour/tart cherries in the stores. Those will work, just be sure to drain any excess liquid from them.
- ✅Self-Rising Flour: I love using self-rising flour for a lot of my recipes. It helps eliminate extra steps/ingredients, because it includes the baking powder and salt when you buy it, but if you can’t find any, make your own by adding 1 ½ tsp baking powder + ¼ tsp salt for every cup of all-purpose flour.
- ✅Sweetened Condensed Milk: There is no substitute for this guy. It has to be sweetened condensed milk or the recipe won’t taste right.
- ✅Coarse Sugar (optional): As I said earlier, it’s optional, but I really think it’s not. If you don’t want to use the sugar, consider using finely chopped walnuts, pecans or almonds for that extra texture. My favorite coarse sugar is also known as Sanding Sugar.
- ✅Water (optional): This is only used if the batter seems thick as thieves. The initial thickness depends on the flour and how juicy (or not) your cherries are and in my experience, sometimes I’ve had to use a bit of water to thin the batter out.
❗Important to Know Before You Make These
- Cherry Liquid: If you’re using jarred cherries, be sure to really drain the liquid they come in. Press them firmly between layers of paper towel to absorb extra moisture because it can really affect your finished muffin.
- Overmixing: Don’t overmix the batter when you’re making these. Flour develops gluten and can make the muffins tough as rocks. We want to keep gluten development pretty low here.
- Sweetness: The sweetness levels of the muffins will depend on how tart the cherries are. Some sour cherries are extremely tart, and some, depending on the ripeness, cannot be all that sour at all. If you prefer things fairly sweet, look at adding a tablespoon or two of sugar to the batter. Keep in mind that if you’re using sanding sugar, that helps in adding more sweetness as well.
Making Sour Cherry Muffins with 3 Ingredients
- Add the cherries to the dry ingredients.
- Add the sweetened condensed milk.
- Mix until incorporated and then scoop into muffin tins. Sprinkle sanding sugar if using, and bake!
Please refer to the printable recipe card below for exact amounts, detailed instructions, and helpful tips to make this recipe perfect every time.
Serving
Serve these warm, room temperature, or chilled. The best way to serve them is while you’re on the couch watching TV, on the bus on your way to work, or lying in bed with a cup of coffee/tea and reading the Sunday paper.
Isn’t that the way to serve ANY and ALL baked goods? 😉
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3 Ingredient Sour Cherry Muffins
Whip up these 3-ingredient sour cherry muffins in no time! Tangy, sweet, and crazy easy - perfect for busy mornings or a cheeky midnight snack.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
- 2 cups sour cherries, pitted **see notes below
- 1 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line or grease a 12-cup muffin pan.
- In a large bowl, add the self-rising flour. Toss the cherries in the flour to coat. (This helps keep them from sinking to the bottom!)
- Add the sweetened condensed milk. I like to add it in two batches because it seems a bit easier to mix that way.
- Divide the batter equally into the muffin cups.
- (optional) Sprinkle with sanding sugar if using.
- Bake for 20 - 22 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven, transfer the muffins to a cooling rack.
- Let them cool before serving.
Notes
STORAGE: I like to freeze each muffin individually on a baking sheet, then wrap it in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer bag. They freeze perfectly and wrapped this way, will last in the freezer for at least 3 months.
THAWING & REHEATING: A microwave makes quick work to thaw and reheat, but I find that they are nice when thawed at room temperature and lightly warmed in the toaster oven, or oven if you're doing more than one. Regardless of how you thaw them, they're going to be deeelicious!!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 78Total Fat: 1gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 191mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 1gSugar: 4gProtein: 2g
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.
