Cherry-Poppy Seed Muffins

My friend Kristen is stopping by to see me tomorrow morning (she's calling in sick to work...way to go, K!!!), so I decided this was a good enough reason to get in the kitchen to bake something for my rebel-child pal. She has two favorite things to eat...brownies and muffins. Brownies and muffins are the "fruits and vegetables" in her diet. Seriously. Since I usually send her home with a batch of brownies, I figured I would be a rebel-child myself and bake her muffins instead this time. Whoa, settle down, Mindy...you're out of control!!!

We both have a mutual love of poppy seeds, and since I had all of the ingredients on hand to make Cherry-Poppy Seed Muffins, it was a given what recipe to make. She gets six to take home and I get six to last me the next six mornings for breakfast before I leave for France next week.

I ate half of a muffin tonight, and it was yummy. Who knew poppy seeds, orange zest and dried cherries combined made such a delicious muffin? I can't wait to see what they taste like in the morning after the flavors have more time to sit overnight.

Cherry-Poppy Seed Muffins

Source: Adapted from Tyler Florence's Real Kitchen

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the cherries
1 cup sugar, plus more for dusting the tops of the muffins
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated
1 cup dried cherries

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin tin, preferably nonstick, with butter.

In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together until evenly combined.

In another bowl, whisk together the milk and eggs; then add the melted butter, poppy seeds, and orange zest.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the well; fold everything together to form a batter.

Toss the cherries with some flour (about 1 tablespoon) in a zip-top bag (this helps to prevent them from sinking to the bottom of the muffins when baked), and then fold them into the batter.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins, filling them two-thirds full. Dust the surface of the batter with a little sugar to form a crust as the muffins bake.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a wooden toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center muffin. Place the muffin tin on a cutting board to cool.

Yield: 12 muffins

Notes: I sprayed the muffin pan with butter-flavored cooking spray instead of using butter. Use an organic orange since you are zesting the peel.