Jackie had just returned from nearly three weeks away when she texted me –“Want to hang out and cook something today?” It was a muggy Monday, and I was dragging a bit, still hoping to come up with something to do with the kids. “Sure,” I said, “but there’s a catch — we have to use peaches since I have pounds and pounds of them from my CSA.”
Since we often bake together, we decided to make chunky peach muffins. Jackie was thrilled to have breakfast treats to bring on her weekend away to the beach and I was happy to use up my bounty of peaches, packing my freezer with breakfast foods for early morning school days. So, last Monday, while the kids played, we baked away. Sweet scents filled the house, luring kids to the kitchen for tastes. They gobbled up many bite-sized muffins, leaving only crumbs (which I wasn’t pleased to find later on throughout the house).
If you’re looking for something sweet do before the school year gets into full swing, put the farm fresh peaches (which are quite abundant this year!) to good use and spend some quality time with a friend.
Peach Muffins
Makes approximately 26 muffins
2 ½ cups peeled and diced peaches (about 6 peaches)
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
3 cups unbleached flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
½ cup canola oil
¼ cup light cream (or half and half or milk)
1/8 cup course sugar to sprinkle on top
Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray muffin tins with baking spray or line pan with baking cups.
Using an electric mixer, in a large bowl beat together the eggs, vanilla extract and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the oil and mix well. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients until combined. Beat in the cream. Fold in the peaches and then spoon the mixture into prepared muffin tins ¾ of the way. Sprinkle each muffin with course sugar and bake for approximately 16-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out dry.