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.
I made these a few weeks back when I came home with just a tad too many peaches from the farmer’s market. SO GOOD.
I didn’t have spelt flour so I used a mix of whole wheat and all-purpose.
I just made these with dried cranberries instead of peaches, and I put the streusel from this recipe on top: http://www.cheekykitchen.com/2012/04/vegan-blueberry-streusel-muffins.html
Sadly, in the middle of making them I realized my applesauce was moldy 🙁 I had to sub canola oil, and these were good but I think they are missing something because of the applesauce. I will try again with applesauce sometime.
These muffins were awesome out of the oven. I’m a believer.
We’re snowed in and I had some peaches in the freezer and, well, you know….These were amazing! Thank you! I did half white/half whole wheat flour and I made a pecan streusel topping by pulsing raw pecans with sugar, cinnamon, and ground clove in the food processor. To die for!
Thanks for posting this, I was about to ask if I could use frozen peaches.
I bake a lot so I have a lot of all purpose flour and was wondering if that would work for this recipe or is I should get the spelt flour?
I’ve had a pack of spelt flour lying around my kitchen cupboard for ages, I’m totally making these today! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I just made these and was really impressed. I thought they’d be ‘okay’ considering the spelt flour, non-dairy milk and no egg. But they were surprisingly very yummy. I am definitely making these again! Thank you for the great recipe.
Isn’t the vinegar supposed to be used to curdle the “milk” before adding to the dry ingredients?
These are delightful! I didn’t have spelt flour, so used a mix 2 cups AP and 1/2 cup WW flour as someone else suggested. I also didn’t have applesauce so subbed out vegan vanilla yogurt for that. I will definitely be making these again — they are so easy to put together, and the resulting muffin is light and flavorful. Thank you!