Guava Cheese Muffins

These muffins are a fall brunch must-have! I know that alot of people are not into guava so I will say that I have made these using dried cherries reconstituted in hot apple juice and it just got better! Nevertheless, the recipe is fabulous :)

Guava Cheese Muffins

2 cups Flour
1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 cup Sugar
1 stick unsalted Butter room temperature
1 tablespoon Orange Zest
1 tablespoon Orange Juice
1 cup Whole Milk Ricotta
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon Almond Extract
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon Orange Blossom Water
1 tablespoon large granule Sugar (I use RAW sugar) for muffin top garnish
Guava Paste cut into 12 tablespoon size chunks
OR
1-6 oz. bag of dried Cherries (reconstituted in 2 cups of hot apple juice then drained and rolled in flour before adding to the batter)

Preheat oven to 330. Prepare your 12 count muffin tin with liners or non-stick baking spray and set aside.
Cream the butter and 1 cup of sugar with a hand mixer until light yellow and fluffy. Add the vanilla and almond extracts along with the orange blossom water to the bowl. Add the eggs, orange zest, orange juice and ricotta. Mix well.
Sift the dry ingredients together (flour,baking powder, baking soda, salt) and add them to the bowl. Beat just until incorporated. It will look a little lumpy but keep in mind, the ricotta cheese is also lumpy so resist the urge to overmix.
If you choose to use the cherries, this would be the time to fold them into the batter prior to filling the muffin tins, then bake accordingly.
For guava lovers like me, pour the batter halfway up the muffin tin then place a chunk right in the middle. Top with a dollop of batter to cover. Continue until all 12 cups are evenly filled then sprinkle each with the RAW sugar or any large granule sugar you may have. You can also just skip that step and dust with powdered sugar when the muffins are done and cooled.
Bake for 20 minutes and allow to cool.