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These are cherry chip cupcakes from scratch with maraschino cherries and cherry juice mixed into the pink cake and maraschino cherry juice whipped into pink buttercream frosting. Makes 2 dozen cupcakes.
They’re perfect as a summer treat, Valentine’s Day sweet, for baby showers, holiday parties, and birthdays. They have a sweet cherry flavor and they’re one of my favorite cupcake flavors.
I always loved Betty Crocker’s cherry chip cake mix, but they discontinued selling it in my area. I had to come up with my own homemade version and they’re absolutely delicious!
These are also called maraschino cherry cupcakes, cherry cupcakes, cherry almond cupcakes, and so on. They go by many names but have the same great ingredients and flavor.
Are there cherry chip morsels in cherry chip cupcakes?
When I hear cherry chip cupcakes, I think that they’re made with cherry chip morsels. Actually, cherry chips are not in them at all.
The “chips” are chopped maraschino cherries that are blended into the cupcake batter. I chopped mine with a food processor to get the pieces really fine.
In the end, they are baked and softened so that you do not even notice the pieces of fruit as you take a bite.
What are maraschino cherries?
They are typically made from yellow Rainier cherries that are then soaked in brine, preserved, and sweetened with sugar. They taste like candy and are often put on ice cream sundaes.
This recipe does not use fresh cherries, instead, chopped maraschino cherries are placed in the batter along with some of the cherry juice. The juice is also used in the frosting to give it a sweet cherry flavor.
Ingredients for Cherry Chip Cupcakes
- Butter, room temperature
- Shortening
- White Sugar
- Almond Extract (Can substitute with vanilla extract)
- Whole Milk
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Egg Whites
- 10 oz Jar of Maraschino Cherries (Reserve syrup/juice for batter and frosting)
Ingredients for Cherry Frosting
- Butter, room temperature
- Shortening
- Powdered Sugar
- Almond Extract
- Reserved Maraschino Cherry Juice
- Whole Milk
- Pink Food Coloring or Icing Gel
- Sprinkles or if you want cherries for topping you will need an additional 10 oz Jar of maraschino cherries to have enough.
How to Make Classic Homemade Cherry Chip Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a muffin pan with 24 cupcake liners.
- Cream together butter, shortening, and sugar in an electric mixer with a paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer. Add almond extract, milk, and ⅓ cup of reserved maraschino cherry juice into the creamed butter mixture.
- Sift flour and baking powder together and mix dry ingredients into the batter. Add egg whites and beat for 2 minutes at low speed.
- Chop 16 maraschino cherries finely with a knife, or add to a small food processor and pulsate until cherries are chopped fine. Fold the diced cherries into the cupcake batter.
- You can add food coloring if you want more of a pink color, but it does already have a light pink hue from the juice. I did not add any to the batter in the cupcakes in the photos.
- Add approximately 3 tablespoons of batter to each cupcake liner.
- Bake for 15-18 minutes until the tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched or a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Allow to fully cool before frosting.
How to Make Cherry Frosting
- Add butter, shortening, almond extract, and maraschino cherry juice to a large mixing bowl. Slowly blend ⅓ of powdered sugar in at a time.
- Add 1 tablespoon of milk. If too thick, add an additional tablespoon of milk.
What decorating tip do you use for cupcakes?
Wilton’s 1M or 2D are star tips that are perfect for cherry chip cupcakes. I used 1M on the cupcakes in the photos. If you are looking for a round frosting top instead of a star Wilton’s 1A is a perfect round tip.
How do you pipe a cupcake?
I recommend Cakes by Lynz’s piping tutorials on YouTube. She does a great job explaining piping for beginners and learning the basics of cupcake decorating. She has a wide variety of videos showing all kinds of tips.
Try these other tasty sweet treats!
- Berry Wine Cupcakes
- Eggless Valentine’s Day Cookies
- Raspberry Cupcakes
- Starbucks Strawberries and Cream Frappuccino Cupcakes
- Strawberry Bellinis
- Summer-Themed Cupcakes
- The Best Red Velvet Cupcakes
Enjoy!
The Best Cherry Chip Cupcakes
Ingredients
Cherry Chip Cupcakes
- ¼ cup Butter
- ¼ cup Shortening
- 1 ¾ cups White Granulated Sugar
- 2 teaspoons Almond Extract
- ⅔ cup Milk
- 2 ¾ cups All-Purpose Flour
- 3 teaspoons Baking Powder
- 4 Large Egg Whites, unbeaten
- 10 ounces Jar Maraschino Cherries, stems removed, with juice reserved for frosting
Cherry Frosting
- 1 cup Butter
- 4 cups Confectioners' Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Almond Extract
- 1 tablespoon Reserved Maraschino Cherry Juice
- 1-2 tablespoons Milk, as needed
- Pink Food Coloring or Icing Gel
- Sprinkles or if you want cherries for topping you will need an additional 10 oz Jar of Maraschino Cherries
Instructions
Cherry Chip Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners.
- Cream butter, shortening, and sugar together in a mixing bowl. Add in almond extract, milk, and ⅓ cup of reserved maraschino cherry juice. Sift flour and baking powder together and mix into batter. Add in egg whites and beat for 2 minutes.
- Chop 16 maraschino cherries finely, or add to a small food processor and pulsate until cherries are chopped fine. Fold chopped cherries into the cupcake batter.
- Add 2-3 tablespoons of batter to each cupcake liner. Bake for 15-18 minutes until tops of cupcakes spring back when lightly touched or a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to fully cool on cooling racks before frosting.
Cherry Frosting
- Add butter, almond extract, and maraschino cherry juice to the mixing bowl. Slowly blend add confectioners' sugar and mix well. Add 1-2 tablespoons of milk if too thick.
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