I get those days when I feel like, “OOKKKAYYY Kimberly!!!  

You need some balance here girlfriend, you’ve been a really bad, bad girl lately, so let’s make some healthy-ish muffins instead of eating all that chocolate cake and brownies!! ”

Home-Made Cherry Vanilla Yogurt Muffins, please!  How does that sound?  It’s dessert in a muffin if you ask me!  Sour cherries, vanilla Greek yogurt 

I love muffins, but the ones you get in the grocery are so over-processed with ingredients you can’t even pronounce, they give me a bad vibe most of the time and they don’t have that home-made taste to me, but that’s just my opinion. I like to be able to pronounce and know what I’m eating when I gorge myself, thank you very much. 

So, I decided to whip up some healthy, delicious melt-in-your-mouth muffins bursting with some big, juicy red cherries.  Cherries just sound cheery don’t they?  🙂 

So, I guess the phrase “Life is a bowl of cherries!”, reflects cheery because it translates as “Life is good” and “Everything is peachy-keen” or should I say “cherry-keen”?

They are perfect and moist because of the Greek yogurt (boost of protein!) and applesauce used in the recipe.  The juice of the lemon & zest with the vanilla gives it another level of freshness and pairs well with the yogurt and cherries if you wish to add it in. They freeze well too! 

 These are delicious for breakfast, snacking, packing or on the go. Get you some! 🙂

Here are some reasons why Cherries are so good for you! 

Helps fight cancer and disease!  Cherries are full of antioxidants and help repair or prevent damage done to cells by free radicals.  Cherries are rich in Queritrin–a flavonoid,  ellagic acid and pherillyl alcohol (POH), all which have been found to be one of the most potent anti-cancer agents to fight off all the body’s cancerous cells as well as preventative. Helps relieve pain of arthritis and gout, helps eliminate oxidative stress, prevents prematuring aging, helps cure migraines, and helps with the body clock and sleep. All that in cherries…they’re packed with goodies!

If you don’t have cherries, you could try blueberries, peaches or strawberries.  If you have to have chocolate for some added sweetness, (Trust me, I’m just as shocked as you are that I didn’t add it in) you can add in any flavor of chocolate chips for an added treat.  I’m thinking dark chocolate would be absolutely heaven in these!  Make them today!  10 minutes to prepare and 25-30 minutes in the oven and you’re good to go!

More Cherry recipes?  

OMG! Heavenly Cherry Cheesecake Swirl Brownies

Red Tart Cherry Crumble Pie

Very Cherry Cheesecake Poke Cake

Cherry Cream Cheese Biscoff Delight

Here’s this recipe Cherry lovers: 

Print Recipe

Home-made Cherry Vanilla Yogurt Muffins

Home-made Vanilla Yogurt Muffin bursting with Sweet Cherries.

Prep Time10 d 10 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Course: Breakfast, Brunch, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cherry, Greek yogurt, healthy, muffins

Servings: 12

Author: Kim Lange

Ingredients

• 1½ cup all purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup Vanilla Greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup sugar of choice
  
  add 2 more tablespoons, if want sweeter
• 1/4 cup honey, optional
• 3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce or ½ cup canola oil or oil of choice or ½ cup unsweetened applesauce and 2 tablespoons oil of choice
• 2 large eggs or egg whites
• 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
• 1 lemon - grate for lemon zest and use the juice from lemon when preparing the recipe
• 1 1/2 cups sour or sweet cherries, pitted fresh or frozen, toss with 1 tablespoon flour & 1 tablespoon sugar before adding to muffin mixture

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line your muffin pan with liners or spray with baking spray. I used silicone muffin pans and sprayed it with olive oil spray. Set aside.
• In one bowl, add flour, salt, baking powder & baking soda together and mix with a whisk.
• In another bowl, lightly beat eggs and add in yogurt, sugar, applesauce, honey, vanilla, lemon zest and juice from the lemon and mix until well blended.
• Add wet mixture to dry mixture until just blended. (Don't over mix - you will get tough muffins!)
• Toss fresh or frozen cherries with 1 tablespoon flour & 1 tablespoon sugar before adding to muffin mixture and fold about 3-4 times and then scoop muffin mixture into prepared muffin cups. Will rise 1/2 inch or more.
• Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until tops become golden brown.
• Recipe makes 12-14 regular muffins.