Baking with Whole Grains: Peach Ginger Muffins

Happy Monday! Let’s do it. Let’s start this week out on the right foot. As cliche as it may sound, an awesome breakfast really gets us on the right track in our house. Muffins are a family favorite, especially for busy weekday mornings since we always keep a stash of them in the freezer. Whenever possible I love to include seasonal fruit. Peach season is far too fleeting but once it arrives, we do our best to make the most of it. Most of them don’t last long enough to make it into baked goods, but if I overbuy with a recipe in mind and get busy in the kitchen right away, I’m able to save a few from little toddler fingers and afternoon snack attacks.

So all I really had in mind was just some peach muffins. I wasn’t expecting to stumble upon the best muffin base I’ve ever tried. Since I first started my series on Baking with Whole Grains, I go the whole grain route the vast majority of the time, especially for breakfast items. The muffin itself is perfect – completely tender but still with great flavor and texture thanks to the combination of flours. Add in the ginger scented peaches and what you end up with is a truly fantastic breakfast treat. There was much “oohing”, “ahhing”, and maybe even a little happy dancing over these. I can’t wait to try out this muffin base with other mix-ins and flavor combinations. Until then, and until peach season is over, we have these and that is good. Take that, Monday!

Yield about 14-16 muffins

Ingredients

3 large ripe peaches
7 tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
1 tbsp. honey
2 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. grated fresh ginger, divided
1 cup oat flour*
¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. kosher salt
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
¼ tsp. grated nutmeg
¾ cup milk
½ cup low-fat greek yogurt (or sour cream)
1 large egg

Directions

01
Halve the peaches and remove the pits. Slice into ¼-inch thick slices. Place a large skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of the butter, the honey and 1 teaspoon of the ginger. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the syrup begins to bubble, about 2 minutes. Add the peach slices to the pan and toss gently with the syrup. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool slightly. When cool, transfer half of the peaches to a cutting board and coarsely chop.
02
Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Grease muffin tins or line with paper liners. In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Whisk to blend. Melt the remaining 6 tablespoons of butter. In a liquid measuring cup, combine the milk, yogurt, egg, and the remaining 2 tablespoons of ginger. Whisk until well blended. Whisk in the melted butter. Pour the liquid mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and fold together just until incorporated and no dry streaks remain. Fold in the chopped peaches.
03
Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans filling each about 2/3 of the way full. Top each muffin with 1 or 2 of the ginger peach slices. Bake, rotating halfway through the baking time, until the muffins are lightly browned and just set, about 20-22 minutes total. Let cool in the pans about 5 minutes, gently remove from the pans and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
04
*Note: If you cannot find oat flour or would prefer not to purchase it, you can grind oats in your food processor until finely ground and use that instead.

Source

slightly adapted from Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce