Manny is making almond muffins for a mid-day snack. He makes 34 muffins and uses 4 cups of almonds. What is the unit rate of muffins per cups of almonds that he is using?

To find the unit rate of muffins per cup of almonds, we need to divide the number of muffins by the number of cups of almonds: 34 muffins / 4 cups of almonds = <<34/4=8.5>>8.5 muffins per cup of almonds. Answer: \boxed{8.5}.