Oatmeal Cherry Muffins

I am in love. Hello, scrumptious oat muffins! These are delectable, moist and lightly sweetened, with a delicious oat crumble topping. I adapted the recipe from Heidi at 101Cookbooks. I am once again guilty of adapting something before even trying the original, however I would recommend trying the basic version and coming up with your own adaptions! You'll have to excuse the way I switch around between ounces and grams. It works in my brain somehow. If you want volume measurements, just see the original recipe. Enjoy!

Oatmeal Cherry Muffins

Changes from original: I altered the amounts to make exactly 1 dozen muffins (with only a little bit of leftover crumble), added cherries, and extracts. I didn't include "almond" in the title because all I did was add a hint to complement the cherries. If you want a more pronounced almond flavor, try adding finely chopped blanched almonds to the crumble topping. If you don't want to be left with only a tad extra crumble, then simply make the whole amount (double this), and then you'll have plenty to freeze for later use. :)

Crumble topping:

1.5 oz whole wheat pastry flour

0.75 oz cup rolled oats (not quick cooking)

1.25 oz brown sugar

1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt (if using table salt, you should use a scant 1/4 tsp)

1.25 oz unsalted butter, melted

Muffin batter:

67 grams rolled oats (not quick cooking)

67 grams unbleached all purpose flour

67 grams whole wheat pastry flour

1/3 tsp baking soda

scant 1/3 tsp fine grain sea salt

134 grams unsalted butter

47 grams brown sugar

8 oz (ounces!) plain yogurt - I accidentally measured this by weight, not fluid ounces, but it came out, so I wouldn't worry either way.

1 egg, whisked

1/4 tsp almond extract

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup pitted sweet cherries, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease muffin pan (no need for liners - mine popped out easily). Place racks in top third of oven.

Prep cherries.

Use a fork to combine the flour, oats, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter. Form into a patty, wrap, and freeze for about ten minutes.

In a large bowl combine the oats, flours, baking soda, and sea salt. Melt the butter in a small saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar. Whisk in the yogurt, and then the eggs and extracts. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and stir just until combined. Gently fold in cherries. Do not over mix.

Pour the batter into the muffin tins, filling each 3/4 full (tip: I find using my large cookie scoop is perfect for the job!). Take the crumble from the freezer, crumble it, and sprinkle on top of each muffin. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until tops are golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool just a minute or so, then turn out onto a cooling rack (Heidi says: important! And I agree. :) )

Yield: 1 dozen muffins