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Maraschino Cherry Cupcakes

Have I ever told you about my brother-in-law? His name is Jacob. He’s a few years younger than me, but I’ve known him since he was about nine years old. He used to field relentless phone calls from me back when I discovered I was hopelessly in love with his big brother, back in my middle-school years.

Jacob left our small town in Kansas for college, and has never moved back. He lived in Minneapolis for awhile, then Seattle, and now lives in New York City. We miss him, a lot. He and my husband text each other constantly, like, teenage-girl constantly, and over the years, they’ve become much, much closer than they were growing up. We look forward to “Uncle Jakey’s” visits during the holidays, and enjoy his company so much that even MY brothers and sisters clear their calendars for our annual sibling party.

Ingredients
cupcakes:

1 box white cake mix
3 eggs
⅓ cup vegetable oil
¾ cup milk (or buttermilk)
½ cup sour cream
¼ cup cherry juice (from Maraschino cherries)
2 teaspoons almond extract
1 cup Maraschino cherries, roughly chopped

frosting:

1 and ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 cups powdered/confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons almond extract
¼ cup heavy whipping cream
24 cherries with stems, for garnish

Instructions
Cucpakes:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F). Prepare a two 12-cup cupcake pans with papers, and set aside.
Rough-chop cherries, and set aside.
Combine remaining ingredients (cake mix, eggs, sour cream, oil, milk, cherry juice, almond) in a large bowl, and beat on medium speed with a hand mixer for two minutes.
Fold in chopped cherries.
Fill cupcake papers ⅔ full, with batter.
Bake 17-20 minutes or until a cake-tester comes out clean.
Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Frosting: