Just after I made these muffins, I lost the little notebook in which the recipe was written and I only rediscovered it this morning. So I know we're really down to the wire for peach season, but I wanted to get these muffins to you all the same. If you can't find fresh peaches, you could use frozen fruit or maybe have something to look forward to for next year? Do you want to punch me right now? I would want to punch me.
Regardless of the fruit you use, these are great little muffins to make any time for breakfast or snacking purposes. These are not Costco-style, meaning they are not dense and practically dessert. They are quite light and borderline delicate from the moisture in the fruit, with a bit of texture from the hot cereal. And the candied ginger on the top is just fantastic; it made me wish that I had mixed some throughout the batter, so there are some notes in the ingredients list should you wish to do so as well (dooooiiiiiit).
Peach-Raspberry Breakfast Muffins
Adapted from the Cheeseboard Collective Works recipe for Apple-Apricot muffins - Makes 12 muffins
The tops of these muffins end up being relatively flat, I think because they are quite fruit-laden and the batter is a little wet. Just so you know! The original recipe from the cheese board calls for 1 cup of chopped dried fruit, so you can always sub that for a slightly denser, rounded muffin.
If you're not a fan of the flavors of orange-blossom water and cardamom, you can substitute vanilla and cinnamon.
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/3 cup melted and cooled butter
1 teaspoon orange blossom water
1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup uncooked hot cereal of your choice (I used this) OR raw wheat germ
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped candied ginger, divided
2 peaches, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
A handful of fresh raspberries (about 1/2 cup)
Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Generously butter or spray the top and cups of a 12-cup muffin pan.
In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, buttermilk, butter, and orange blossom water, and whisk until well blended.
Sift the flour, baking soda, and cardamom together into a large bowl. Add the salt, oats, hot cereal or wheat germ, sugars, and 1/4 cup of chopped candied ginger. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. With a few strokes of the spoon, gently combine, taking care not to overmix the batter.
Switch to a spatula, and carefully fold in the peaches. Once the peaches are relatively well distributed, gently fold in the raspberries in a few strokes, taking care not to break them up too much in the batter (which will make your batter pink and streaky, though the muffins will still taste great). Let the batter rest for 15 minutes to allow the ingredients to hydrate and expand fully.
With a dry measuring cup or a large spoon, evenly distribute the batter among the twelve muffin cups, and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup chopped candied ginger. Bake on the middle rack in the oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the muffins are a deep golden-brown, firm, and springy when touched. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, before turning out onto a cooling rack.
These muffins keep well in an airtight container for up to 1 day at room temperature, or up to 3 days in the fridge.
