These Ginger Peach Muffins are low in fat and sugar, and if you choose whole wheat flour as your base, they are pretty close to guilt free.
Winter is a tough time for fresh produce. Berries cost about a million dollars per pint and have been shipped a thousand miles from the land of sunshine to your local grocer. They are somewhat lackluster in taste and quality.
Don’t even bother with these subpar fruits. Instead, stick to the frozen variety for use in pancakes and smoothies. They’re picked and flash frozen at the height of the summer season and are perfect for use in cooking.
Late in the afternoon I found myself with an itch to bake but not a frozen fruit to be found, even in the darkest and unchartered corners of my freezer. Happily, I miraculously had a pantry stuffed with dried fruit. I’m not sure what possessed me to hoard apocalypse-levels of dried pineapple, cranberries, cherries, and prunes, not to mention two varieties of raisins. The dried peaches certainly came in handy when I was in search of a filling for these healthy-ish breakfast muffins.
These Ginger Peach Muffins are low in fat and sugar, and if you choose whole wheat flour as your base, they are pretty close to guilt free. Chop the dried peaches about the same size as chocolate chips. Dried apples or pineapples would both make a good substitute here for the peaches.
Ginger Peach Muffins
1 3/4 cup whole wheat or all purpose flour, or half and half
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup butter, melted
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon peach schnapps
1 scant cup diced dried peaches, about 4 ounces
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and place about a dozen cupcake liners in the pan, or grease the muffin tin quite well.
First, the dry ingredients: place the flour, rolled oats, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Whisk well to combine.
Now the wet ingredients: in a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, eggs, vanilla extract, and peach schnapps.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Mix until just combined.
Stir in the dried peach bits.
Spoon about 1/4 cup of the batter into each of the muffin liners.
Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the muffin comes out clean.
Let the muffins cool for a few minutes in the pan and then remove them to a wire rack.
This recipe will yield about a dozen muffins.