This is my favorite, easy muffin recipe. I first came across it when looking for a way to use the ripe summer peaches, plums, and nectarines that came with my vegetable and fruit delivery.
I use a local company called Washington’s Green Grocer; they deliver a gorgeous box of produce weekly to your door on a day that is set for your neighborhood (you can also order bi-weekly, or less frequently). I first received a box as a birthday gift years ago (great gift, SZ!), and depending on my schedule I like to try to order local produce from them at least once a month. You can switch out some items if you prefer others, but I like challenging myself to try new healthy foods from time to time. I have learned to love a number of items in this way, such as beets, swiss chard, and stone fruits like peaches and plums. It’s also nice to “force” produce on myself, and have some on hand when I wouldn’t necessarily pick up such a variety at the store. It’s not like a CSA where you get what is available, no matter what, even if that week it’s 4 lbs of potatoes and 2 bunches of greens.
I had never been in to stone fruits, maybe a bad childhood experience with nectar dripping down my arm? Unclear. But the fruit in the box always looks so good that I wanted to find a way to use it. This recipe was from a basic internet search for something like “peach muffins.” It was an instant classic. Any mix of fleshy stone fruit where you can remove the skin (peaches, plums, nectarines) is great in this muffin. Believe me, I have tried all permutations.
Frustrated with getting the skin off of the fruit? Use the same method I use for getting the skin off of tomatoes. Just make a small “X” with a serrated knife at the bottom of the fruit, and dunk in boiling water until the skin starts to blister. Transfer it to an ice water bath (which sounds wonderful in this humidity) and the skin will peel right off. Careful with the plums! Their bright flesh may stain, so don’t splash them around.
This batch made 10 regular-sized muffins, or 24 mini-muffins. In these photos, the regular-sized are plum with a bit of cinnamon added, and the mini’s are peach.
- 1.5 c flour
- .75 c sugar
- .5 t salt
- 2 t baking powder
- .5 t cinnamon {optional}
- ⅓ c canola oil
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- ⅓ c skim milk
- 2 pieces of stone fruit (peach, plum, nectarine), peeled and diced
- 2 T brown sugar
- Preheat the oven to 400, and spray the insides of a muffin pan with cooking spray {I recommend not using paper liners because the fruit will stick to the paper}.
- In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon if using).
- Add the oil, egg, and milk. Mix ONLY until all ingredients are moist.
- Fold in the fruit.
- Using a cookie scoop, fill each muffin tin about ¾ of the way with batter.
- Sprinkle brown sugar over the batter liberally.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until the tops are lightly and evenly browned; choose one as your "sacrifice muffin" and press the top gently to see if it's firm but not hard. Cook for a few more minutes if it seems too delicate.
- When the muffins are done (check back in with your sacrifice muffin... maybe with a fresh-out-of-the-oven bite?), cool them in the pan for a few minutes. Remove them with a plastic knife, loosening around the sides and bottom (as much as you can) before popping them out onto a wire rack.
This is a great recipe to cut in half if you only want a few muffins. Just use the white from the egg (for your “half” egg) and one piece of fruit. It’s a very forgiving recipe, so don’t stress about halving it! This is also the recipe to make when you feel like baking something with the “regular” ingredients you have in your pantry.
Adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/beths-peach-nectarine-muffins/
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