Cherry Chocolate Chip Muffins. These muffins are made with equal quantities of cherries and mini chocolate chips.

Maraschino Cherries. I use natural dried cherries in my muffins. Most commercial cherry muffins, cupcakes, ice cream, and candies are made with maraschino cherries. Maraschino is not a type of cherry. It is a method of preserving cherries. Maraschino cherries are made by bleaching cherries in a brine made of calcium chloride and sulfur dioxide for 1 to 2 months. This process removes all color and flavor from the cherries. Then the cherries are soaked in sugar syrup, artificial cherry flavor, and red dye. Maraschino cherries have an extremely long shelf life, which makes them popular with food processors. Maraschino cherries are pretty, but they are not good for you.

Cherry Chocolate Chip vs. Orange Cranberry Muffins. It can be hard to tell cranberries from cherries in baked goods, but there is an easy way to tell which of my muffins is which. My cherry-chocolate chip muffins are baked in red muffin cups, and the orange-cranberry muffins are baked in orange or copper colored muffin cups.

Why No Muffin Bakeries? There are lots of cupcake bakeries and donut shops, but the only bakeries that specialize in muffins in the bay area make them for a niche market. There are bakeries that just make gluten-free muffins, and there are bakeries that make muffins for dogs. Lately, mochi muffin bakeries have been popping up in California. But why aren’t there bakeries that just sell normal muffins? I suspect that the reason that cupcakes and donuts outsell muffins is simply because cupcakes and donuts have a lot more sugar in them.