Ground Cherry Muffins for #MuffinMonday

My friend, Stacy of Food, Lust, People, Love, has started a new cooking group in which we will be sharing with each other and our readers a new Muffin recipe on the last Monday of each month.

When Mom and Pops were living with me I celebrated Muffin Mondays quite often.  Pops loved his sweets and Mom would always profess that she wasn't hungry but if you put a muffin in front of her she would eat every drop.  I have shared several muffin recipes with you in the past, you can find them here in the Yeast Bread, Sweet Breads and Muffin link of my recipe page.

But there can never be too many muffin recipes. They are so versatile.  They can be sweet or savory. Can be eaten on their own or as part of a meal.  Heck if you stuff them with meat and cheese they can be the meal!  I love muffins and I hope you do too.  I also hope you enjoy those that we share with you each month. Thanks Stacy for coming up with this fantastic idea.

When Stacy first approached us with this idea I shouted out a Hallelujah, because I had a half pint of ground cherries in my fridge that I had gotten from my CSA and I wasn't sure what I was going to do with them.  This little project answered that question right away....Muffins.....the great foil for any kind of fruit.

Ground cherries are sometimes called husk cherries.  They are related to the tomatillo and grow inside papery husks.  They are tart and sweet and perfect for muffins, cakes or sweet breads.  I have also used them to make sauces to serve with meats and made syrup with them for over pancakes.  If you are not familiar with ground cherries look for them the next time you are at the Farmer's Market.

The recipe only provides for 6 muffins which is just perfect in this household but you can easily double the recipe if your family is larger or if you want muffins for the freezer to pop out during the week when the morning is too busy for a sit down breakfast.  Muffins are a wonderful, portable breakfast that you can hand to your loved ones as they run out the door.

#MuffinMonday is a group of muffin loving bakers who get together once a month to bake muffins. You can see all our of lovely muffins by following our Pinterest board. Updated links for all of our past events and more information about Muffin Monday, can be found on our home page.

Ground Cherry Muffins

1/4 c. butter, room temperature
1/2 c. sugar plus more for sprinkling
1 egg
1 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1/4 t. cinnamon
pinch of salt
1/4 c. milk
1/2 pint (approx. 1 c.) ground cherries with husks removed

Cream together the butter and sugar.  Add the egg and beat well.  Add 1/2 of the dry ingredients alternately with half of the milk, beating after each addition.  Fold in the ground cherries.  Spoon into a 6 cup muffin tin that has been treated with baking spray. Sprinkle each with a pinch of sugar.  Bake in a preheated 375* oven for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the muffins removes cleanly.  Let cool in the pan for a few minutes before moving to a cooling rack.  Print Recipe

Let's see what the others have made for us today!

• Apricot, Almond, and Toasted Coconut Muffins from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Caramel Apple Buttermilk Muffins from Making Miracles
• Carrot Oat Banana Chunk Muffins from Passion Kneaded
• Ground Cherry Muffins from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Pesto Pine Nut Parmesan Muffins from Food Lust People Love from
• Sour Cream Peach Muffins with Pecan Streusel from The Spiced Life

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