White Chocolate Cherry Oat Muffins with Lavender Butter

These muffins are divine! They are full of sweet ripe cherries, smooth creamy white chocolate, nutty wheat germ and nutrient dense oats. They are slightly chewy, incredibly moist and full of flavor. I was inspired by the deep dark cherries that I have been buying at the farmers market this week. They are so incredibly sweet and go perfectly with the deep vanilla flavored white chocolate. I recently got a cherry pitter, greatest invention ever, and I have been buying cherries like its my job. This recipe calls for 2 cups which is almost 2 pints. I like that almost every bite has a piece of cherry in it. The best muffin I have ever made or eaten!

Recently a very good friend of mine gave me some fresh lavender out of his herb garden. Its very floral and lends itself well to desserts, just like vanilla. I decided, instead of putting it in the muffins, I would make a very luxurious lavender butter with it, to spread and melt over the piping hot muffins. The combination is absolutely delicious. It perfumes your mouth very delicately and gives each bite a unique herbal flavor. This butter would also be wonderful on french toast or even on something savory like a fatty filet of salmon.

Makes 12 large muffins.
Adapted from Food Gal, Brown sugar-oat cherry muffins.

Ingredients

Muffins

3 Cups organic old fashion oats, not the instant kind.
1/2 Cup wheat germ
1 Cup pasture raised sour cream, I use Cabot.
1 (6oz) Container plain Greek yogurt, I use Chobani.
1 Cup pasture raised whole milk
1/2 Cup (1 Stick) pasture raised butter, melted and cooled.
2 Farm raised eggs
2/3 Cup fair trade, organic, raw cane sugar
2/3 Cup fair trade, organic brown sugar
2 Cups organic sweet cherries, chopped.
1 1/4 Cup unbleached, organic, all purpose flour
2 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1 tsp Sea salt
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 Cup white chocolate chips

Butter

4 Tbsp pasture raised salted butter, room temp.
1/2 tsp fresh lavender flower, chopped.
5 fresh lavender leaves, chopped.

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line a large muffin pan with paper cups or grease with butter and flour.

In a large bowl combine the oats, wheat germ, sour cream, Greek yogurt, milk and butter. Mix well. In a small bowl whisk the eggs and add to the oats and mix well. Add in the sugars and vanilla, mix well. In a medium bowl whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry to the wet and mix just to combine, do not over mix. Fold in the cherries and the white chocolate chips.

Scoop the batter into the lined muffin tin, they will be heaping and it will seem over full but I assure you they should be this way for the quintessential muffin top. Place on the middle rack of your oven and bake for 40-45 minutes or until they are a deep, golden brown and spring back to your touch. Remove to a cooling rack.

In a small bowl combine all butter ingredients and mix well. Cool in the fridge for about 10 minutes, I like to keep mine at room temp for buttering the muffins so that it stays soft. Slather on a hot muffin and enjoy! Perfect for breakfast or dessert!