Einkorn Cherry Chocolate Muffins

Here's an Einkorn muffin recipe that makes the most of summer's early bounty of cherries.

It's cherry season! Do cherries grow where you live?

It's too hot to grow cherries at our house in the desert, so we drive to the mountains to go cherry picking instead. This has been a beloved tradition for our family since my kids were toddlers.

We come home with oodles of cherries, and then it's time for baking! Here's a recipe for Cherry Chocolate muffins that I hope you enjoy as much as we have.

Why Einkorn?

My family switched to Einkorn wheat flour 10+ years ago. Einkorn is an ancient variety of wheat that has never been hybridized; as such it is naturally lower in gluten and higher in protein than modern wheat. Some people who have sensitivities to gluten in modern wheat can actually consume Einkorn with no problems.

This recipe for Einkorn Cherry Chocolate Muffins uses Einkorn all-purpose flour. When consumed in moderation, white flours can be a healthy part of the diet. (Did you know that, in traditional cultures, much of the bran and germ was actually discarded after the whole grains were ground into flour? Somehow, the people seemed to know that consuming too much whole grains can be unhealthy.)

Yummy and Nourishing

We love these Einkorn Cherry Chocolate muffins for breakfast or a snack later on. This nourishing recipe is loaded with healthy fats and gets a protein boost from extra eggs. These muffins are lightly sweetened with sucanat, which is unrefined sugar that still retains some nutrients (unlike white sugar). These muffins also have a bright little flavor pop with the addition of almond extract and ground ginger.

I like to double the recipe so we have plenty of easy breakfasts throughout the week. These muffins freeze well, too, and can be thawed and re-warmed in a toaster oven. That makes these muffins into a very-easy breakfast for busy weekday mornings.

Einkorn Cherry Chocolate Muffins

Makes 12 muffins

• 1&1/2 cups pitted dark sweet cherries

• 6 Tb (3/4 of a stick) of butter, melted, preferably grassfed

• 1&3/4 cups Einkorn all-purpose flour

• 1/3 cup sucanat

• 1&1/2 tsp aluminum-free baking powder

• 1/2 tsp finely ground Celtic sea salt

• 1/2 tsp dried ginger

• 1/2 cup soy-free mini chocolate chips 
  

• 4 eggs, preferably from pastured hens

• 3/4 tsp almond extract
  

1. Remove pits from the cherries. I use a cherry pitter, but use whatever works for you.

2. Line a muffin tin with paper cups.  (I prefer If You Care Unbleached Baking Cups because the muffins do not stick to the sides of the cups.)

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

4. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Turn off heat and allow to cool a bit.

5. Combine the Einkorn flour, sucanat, baking powder, salt, ginger, and chocolate chips in a large bowl. Whisk to mix it all together well.
   

6. Combine the eggs, almond extract, and melted butter in a medium bowl. Mix together with a fork.

7. Make a depression in the center of the flour mixture. Pour in the wet ingredients and stir it all together with a large spoon. Because the Einkorn flour does contain gluten, make sure not to overmix or the muffins will be tough.  Stir it all together just enough to combine the wet and dry ingredients, erring on the side of less stirring.

8. Fold in the cherries.

9. Use a 3-Tb scoop or large spoon to scoop the batter into the muffin cups.

10. Bake the muffins at 350 degrees F for 18-22 minutes, until they are golden brown on top.

11. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a bit before serving.

12. Once cool, leftovers that will be consumed within a couple days can be stored in an airtight container on the counter.  The rest can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Or, freeze leftover muffins to be re-warmed in a toaster oven as an easy breakfast in the coming weeks.

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