I started seeing peach cobbler recipes everywhere not long ago, even in my dreams. While a true peach cobbler is definitely on my horizon (it ranks at the top of all cobblers for me), I settled on a little twist — in the form of a muffin — to tide me over.
[W]e are in the middle of a peach bonanza in California, despite the drought. Peach and other stone fruit growers bring tons to the local farmers market, and lure us to their stands by handing out free samples. I couldn’t resist a basic yellow peach for the recipe I was planning.
[F]or Peach Cobbler Muffins, I began with the streusel topping that goes on top, a combination of flour, white sugar, baking powder and cinnamon, blended until crumbly with some cold butter. I set this mixture aside to commence the muffin batter.
[I] began by peeling and chopping my beautiful peaches. And it occurred to me that two flavors go extremely well with any sort of peach recipe, be it pie, cobbler or cobbler muffin — almond and lemon. So, to my chopped peaches I added about a tablespoon of lemon juice.
And to the wet ingredients for the muffins (milk, egg, vegetable oil and vanilla extract), I added about a teaspoon of lemon zest and about 1/2 teaspoon of almond extract.
To the the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt and sugar) the chopped, lemony peaches were added to coat.
The wet ingredients were gently incorporated into the dry, being careful not to over-mix), until it resembles a nice cake batter.
The batter is doled out evenly into the muffin tin, making an even dozen.
Each muffin received a good dose of the crumble mixture.
Golden, lemony, almond-y, cinnamon-y mounds with just a little peach shining through emerged from the oven. They reminded me of coffeecake, but the aroma definitely whispered peach cobbler.
[O]nce a little cooler, I split one open, delighted to reveal juicy chunks of fresh peach. Biting in, that warm vanilla and almond muffin wrapping the fruit, with the bit of cinnamon atop did harken a cobbler-esgue vibe. For the sake of cobblers — and more muffins — to come, I hoped peach season lasted a good while longer.
Peach Cobbler Muffins
Adapted from The Busy Baker ((https://thebusybaker.ca/peach-cobbler-muffins/)
Makes 12
For the muffins:
- 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1-1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup chopped fresh or canned peaches tossed in
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- For the streusel topping:
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons white sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
For the muffins: Heat oven to 350°. Line with paper liners or grease a 12-cavity muffin tin.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Add the peaches and toss to coat.
Mix together the milk, egg, oil, vanilla, lemon zest and almond extract. Blend into the flour mixture with a spatula until all the flour disappears.
Portion the batter out int othe muffin cups evenly (about 3/4 full).
For the topping: Coming the flour, sugar, cinnamon and baking powder in a a small bowl. Add the cold butter in chunks and blend it in with your fingers until it resembles coarse crumbs.
Top the muffins evenly with the streusel topping.
Bake for about 20 minutes or util golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.