CHEF JEFF — ONE BYTE AT A TIME: Vanilla, Cherry, and Almond Muffins

Here’s breakfast (or dessert) you can make in a jiffy, the recipe adapted from “Cooking with Trader Joe’s Cookbook: Pack a Lunch” by Celine Cossou-Bordes (Brown Bag Publishers, 2011).

Vanilla, Cherry, and Almond Muffins

1 16-ounce box vanilla cake baking mix

2 eggs

½ cup melted butter or ½ cup oil

1 cup cold milk

1 cup jarred Dark Morello cherries, drained and chopped

½ cup “Just Almond” meal or ground raw almonds

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Prepare cake batter using baking mix, eggs, melted butter or oil, milk according to directions. Stir in cherries, almond meal. Mix well. Line standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper cups. Fill muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack 5 to 8 minutes. Remove muffins from pan. Cool completely.

Yield: Serves 12.

Grab more food tidbits at the Chef Jeff blog at GrandForksHerald.com.

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