My Muffin Top is Peachy and Brings All the Boys to the Yard

Apparently, my uncanny ability to be the Grim Reaper to every photosynetic organism is not a family curse. My mom is the horse whisperer with plants, it's pretty incredible. The peach tree in our backyard is having a prolific year and yielded buckets of fruit. I merrily carted off 10 pounds of the luscious jewels back to my apartment. Faced with the dilemma of what to do with so many ripe peaches, I decided there's only one thing to do -- make muffins!


Recipe
8 large ripe peaches
3 inch segment of ginger
2 eggs
2 cups milk
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups oat bran
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup milled flaxseed
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup honey
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon



Preheat the oven to 375º. Combine the bran, wheat germ and milled flaxseed in a bowl and add the 2 cups of milk. Stir the mixture a bit to make sure that the milk seeps to the bottom of the bowl. Let soak for 10 minutes until all the milk is absorbed. 

Bran and the flax/bran/wheat germ mixture

Now, onto the peaches! If you cannot find ripe peaches in the market, you can substitute mangos or even canned peaches. Peel all the peaches, cut in half and remove the pit. Reserve 7 halves of the peaches and rough chop into half inch chunks. Peel the skin of the ginger and grate into the blender, then add the remaining peaches. The blender might need a little encouragement to puree the chunks. I used a spoon to mash the peaches down to give the blades a boost. If all fails, add a little water to help the blender along. Save 2 cups of the peach puree for the muffins and if there's leftover, make a bellini! 

Ginger segment

Crack the eggs into a stand mixer, add the brown sugar and vanilla. Using the paddle attachment, mix on high for around 30 seconds. Stir in the bran/flaxseed/wheat germ/milk mixture, and then the peach/ginger puree. In a separate bowl, combine the salt, baking powder, baking soda, whole wheat flour and cinnamon. Mix to ensure that the components are evenly distributed. In two batches, incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet batter. Stir until just combined, make sure not to over mix. Add the diced peaches and the honey at the end.

Finished batter, ready to spoon

Grease the muffin pan with cooking spray and spoon generous dollops of the muffin batter into each cup. I like to make big muffins to get that muffin top going so there's always some overflow. It doesn't have to be perfect and just wipe off an excess batter outside of the cups so it doesn't burn during baking. Pop the muffin in the oven for 25 minutes or until the test toothpick comes out clean.

Before

After

Reflections
This is the same base recipe that I used for the savory muffins. Simply use whatever you have in the house or is in season to create your own version of morning bliss. Instead of cinnamon, green cardamon would also be a great spice to go with the ginger and peach. These muffins keep well in the fridge and are great after a minute in the microwave. They're a great alternative to the baked goods loaded with fat and sugar at the coffee shop. Your arteries will thank you.