I’ve been making these muffins for years. Here’s an almond-cherry version, from 2010. Yes, I have been photographing my baking obsession forever.
Preheat oven to 350. Prep 12-cup muffin tin with oil or paper.
Optional streusel topping (I almost never make this. But when I do it is gooo-ooo-oood.)
1/3 C flour
1 1/2 T cold butter chopped small
1 1/2 T brown sugar, packed
1/4 t ground cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
pinch salt
Wet ingredients
6 T butter, room temp (works just as well with coconut oil, for a different flavor)
1/2 – 3/4 C sugar
1 egg
1/2 C + 2T milk
1/2 t vanilla extract
2 cups chopped fruit and/or nuts and/or chocolate chips
Dry ingredients
2 C flour
1 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/4 t ground cinnamon
In large bowl, sift together all dry ingredients and mix well. In separate bowl mix together all wet ingredients, saving fruit/nuts for last. Add wet to dry and gently fold together. Spoon batter into muffin cups. If using streusel topping, add scant T to top of each muffin.
Immediately put into oven and bake apprx 30 mins, until puffed and golden.
The batter has a lovely density to it, and the fragrance is the smell of baby cherubs smiling.
Remove from oven and put tin on rack to cool 15 mns. Hot muffins are a bit tender and may crumble if handled right away. (Really. Just let them sit for a few minutes before you pop them out of the tin.) Serve warm or cool and store sealed at room temperature.
I … I love you.
This recipe will make 12 goodly-sized muffins. Although they keep well, they’re so delicious fresh from the oven that I rarely have leftovers.
Some of my favorite variations:
peach+blueberry
cherry+almonds
mango+banana+chocolate chip
mango alone
peach+pecan
pumpkin (mashed)+walnut+chocolate chip
blueberry alone
apple alone
apple+cranberry
Crumpets in Camelot 
We live 2 blocks from Moosewood. House swap? 🙂