Summer is fast approaching and that means fresh local fruit and simple baking that gets me out of the hot kitchen fast. Which reminded me, I had some peaches left over from the end of last summer still in the freezer. I know, you shouldn’t use frozen fruit that is 6 months old. But, whatever, I took a chance and they were just fine!
Muffins are my favorite way to bake something quickly using whatever I’ve got on hand. While I love those softball sized sunny-hued white flour and sugar numbers, I have a definite preference for the wholesome, healthy variety, especially for showcasing fresh fruit. These babies are made with spelt flour, providing a rustic, get-it-all-over-your-shirt crumb and a great wheaty flavor. And since we all hate overmixed, rubbery muffins, spelt flour is a great choice. It has such a low gluten content that the dangers of overmixing are diminished, making it perfect for the trepidatious baker. I also use applesauce for moisture, a lower fat content, and to keep the sugar to a minimum.
Got my mind on my muffins and my muffins on my mind
Does anyone else cool their muffins this way? Once they’re cool enough to handle, I gently give them a twist and flip them sideways to cool the rest of the way. I love that whiff of spice you get when you first lift the muffin up.
Brown Sugar Peach Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
Muffin perfection with a hint of spice, lots of juicy peaches and a sprinkle of brown sugar on top. This recipe is plenty versatile, I can see using strawberries or mango and switching the spices up to suit your fruit.
2 1/2 cups spelt flour
3/4 cup brown sugar, plus a little extra for sprinkling
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup almond milk (or soy milk)
1 teapoon apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups chopped peaches (leave skins on or not, whichever you prefer)
Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly grease a muffin tin.
In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices. Make a well in the center and add the applesauce, almond milk, vinegar, canola oil and vanilla. Stir with a wooden spoon until mostly combined. Add the peaches and combine until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.
Scoop batter into muffin tins, they will hold their shape a little bit if you use an ice cream scoop. The batter should almost fill the entire tin. Sprinkle one or two teaspoons of brown sugar on top of each. Bake for 28 to 32 minutes, or until a toothpick or butter knife inserted through the center comes out clean. Let cool for a few minutes in the tin then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely, or just flip them up in the tin to cool, as shown above.
Sweet! Nice lift muffin cooling technique.
Brilliant, as always. Peach muffins are my very favorite.
I like that cooling trick, too….I always use a boring old rack.
Those look absolutely yummy! Your sideways flip cooling technique makes for a pretty picture.
i have to make some..
!
love the Gin & Juice reference.
i totally cool that way. it’s the cool way to cool.
Thees look amazing!!
YAY! Just got home from work, craving something baked & I have peaches! perfect, thanks!
yum! i think VeganYumYum has a brown sugar peach muffin recipe too! (maybe even with spelt?)
Fantastic! These would be great at the bake sale! WooHoo!
Whoa, Nora, that’s weird! But I guess it’s a pretty common and yummy combo!
These look mighty tasty, and I second Afsoon’s comment.
wow this looks really good.
i can’t wait to try it (:
…”muffins on my mind!” LOL I’m gonna get some spelt flour now. Peace.
Peaches haven’t hit our markets yet, but I am READY! I just hope these don’t suck as much as your other recipes, you know?
yum! i have some frozen peaches in that i’ve been waiting to use up. i wasn’t sure whether you could bake with them. thanks for the recipe!
Just made some of the lemon cornbread waffles from your “Vegan with a Vengeance” book–delish! Wish I’d come to your blog sooner, because I see that there’s a dinner in Portland, OR tonight, but I have to work….rats!
I can’t wait unitl peach season!
I use that cooling method as well. And those look mighty tasty!
he who spelt it delt it
Yeah, it sounds like an amazing combo!
Isa, would you be offended if I did a Brown Sugar Peach Spelt Muffin Showdown between the two? I’ll only blog the results if you win! 🙂
We made these today. We only had canned peaches but to make up for that (not reallly) we used peach applesauce. Anyway, they’re delicious.
What a great idea for cooling!
I used it today when I made a big batch of my favorite Best Pumpkin Muffins from VWAV.
That’s more than just a gin and juice reference, its a Miss Muffy and the Muff Mob reference. Lubin’ da hole wit’ ‘sco!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gg2LcalMPKE
Thanks Isa!
I want muffins so much now.
http://www.magicbutter.com/mm_video1.html Here is Lubin Da Hole
I don’t have a cooling rack, so I cool my muffins that way too. I thought I was the only one!
These look great, I can’t wait to make ASAP! Are fresh peaches better than frozen? If using frozen, should they defrost first so not to taste watery?
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I found some really good peaches at the marked this week – I think I have to make these!
Thanks for the information, I totally agree, going to link to your post from my blog!
Fresh peaches or canned????? What’s everyone using??
Would these work with all purpose flour? Cause that’s all I’ve got!
Can I replace the 1/3 cup oil with more applesauce to cut the fat? I’m on a diet but I reallllyyyyyyyyy want MUFFINSSSS!!!!! (:
These muffins are amazing! I made them last night and had one for breakfast this morning. My omni parents and friends love them too!! I blanched the peaches so I could easily peel off the skins, then chopped them into small cubes. I had never baked with spelt flour before. I thought it would be difficult to find, but I found it in two stores completely by accident! The only applesauce I had was cinnamon apple sauce, but only very slightly cinnamon, so I didn’t alter the recipe at all. They still taste fabulous. Thanks, Isa!
Also, using an ice cream scoop to measure out muffins is probably the most brilliant idea ever. it is the exact right size! My mind was blown.
My muffins won’t bake! Still mush in the middle after 60min. I guess that could be because my regular sized tin has mysteriously disappeared and I only have my giant tin…
I made these while on vacation in the middle of nowhere. I used all purpose flour, regular sugar (no brown available) and also no ginger. They were pretty good. So, it will still work, but I bet with all the right ingredients they would be mind blowing.
I made these this weekend with some wonderful organic peaches from the farmer’s market. My friend and I absolutely LOVED them!!!
Okay, so I can’t say I followed the recipe very exactly – used whole wheat and white flour instead of spelt, didn’t have applesauce so I added 1 T. flaxseed and some soy creamer, as well as a shake of cloves–but it turned out brilliantly anyway!
Oh! I DO cool my muffins that way! Heh, thanks for making me not feel so weird.
These sound awesome and like a great way to use those not so awesome peaches that are still coming in around me.
Has anyone tried these with agave nectar or coconut sugar?
These are awesome!!
Hey Isa, I often convert your baking recipes so they’re gluten-free, and it’s worked quite well with all the cupcakes. So here’s my question: what sort of GF flour would most mimic the spelt flour in this recipe? These muffins just sound too yummy to pass up. Thanks!
Made these today with some peaches from the farmer’s market! Delicious!
I just baked these and my house smells amazing. The hubs and I are having a hard time waiting for them to cool because we want one right now! I doubled the vanilla because I LOVE vanilla in baked goods, but otherwise followed the recipe to a T. Thanks Isa!