Almond Cherry Chocolate Muffins...

I think breakfast is my favorite meal ~ but that totally depends on what's for dinner. Usually my morning ritual is sipping a double beaker of hot coffee with a splash of cream for color while browsing the blogs I follow and reading through various online newspapers, both here in the U.S. and London; just to see what has happen during the night. Then with my second cup, I will fix breakfast.

Breakfast has long been touted as the most important meal of the day. It gives you energy and keeps your appetite in check until dinner. Unfortunately, almost no one has time to eat it. One solution to the modern breakfast dilemma isn't faster fast food, but a mainstay of home baked goodies; like scones, biscuits, quick breads, granola and my favorite ~ muffins. These baked goods are quick to assemble and quick to bake or made a day ahead; they can be sweet, savory, full of fruit and nuts, or plain.

Quick breads are the friend of the busy breakfast lover. You can bake a batch of muffins or scones in the evening or on the weekend and freeze them to preserve their just-baked freshness; which really works. Pull one out of the freezer before bed or a couple of hours before you want to eat and grab it on your way out the door. Even if you can't help eating on the run, at least you can add some whole grains and nutrients to your homemade goodies instead of buying food that is just dessert masquerading as breakfast.

Back in the mid-90's, I was the chef at a gourmet coffee shop in Ridgefield, CT. This was pre-Starbucks on every street corner. Bright and early ~ 4:01 AM ~ I rose and headed to the shop to make the muffins, scones and croissants before the shop opened at 7 o’clock. Daily I had my usual stand-by items requested by my loyal customers and then I would make one or two “special goodies” like my Pain au Chocolat and these Almond Cherry Chocolate Muffins.

The muffin recipe below is quick and easy to make; so, don't be surprised when your family ~ even the chronic breakfast skipper starts to request home baked treats.



Almond Cherry Chocolate Muffins

Ingredients:
½ cup butter, room temperature
½ cup sugar
2 large eggs
¾ cup buttermilk
¼ teaspoon almond extract
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chopped cherries (fresh or dried)
3 oz chocolate, finely chopped
½ cup sliced almonds, for garnish

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prep your muffin tin with liners, or grease well with PAM.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well. Add buttermilk and almond extract.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and baking soda.

Add the flour mixture, cherries, and chocolate to your butter/sugar mixture; gently stirring until just combined. Being careful not to over mix your batter.

Fill your muffin cups about ¾ full. Sprinkle top of muffins with sliced almonds.

Bake for 15-22 minute, depending on your oven. For me 18 minutes is the magic number. Remove from oven a let them cool on a wire rack before removing from the muffin tin.

Makes 12 muffins

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George’s notes:

• The word breakfast is a compound of "break" and "fast," referring to the conclusion of fasting since the previous day's last meal.
• Nutritional experts have referred to breakfast as the most important meal of the day; based on studies of the large numbers of people who skip breakfast, to adverse effect on their concentration, metabolism and weight.

If breakfast baking sounds good to you, but you question your baking know-how, fear not. All you need is three basic principles:

1. measure flour correctly
2. mix with a light hand
3. don't overbake