Peach Blueberry Muffins
Peaches line the windowsill in my kitchen window. On any given day there’s at least a dozen peaches lined up, happily ripening in the summer sun, reaching peak sweetness. I rotate between McIlrath Fruit Stand in Gleed and Johnson Orchards on Summitview to get my ‘peach fix’ every few days.
My floors are almost always a little sticky these days from runaway juice dripping off ripe peaches. And if it’s not peaches, its watermelon or cantelope, strawberries or plums. I love this time of summer, sticky floors not included.
We made homemade pizzas on the grill last night and added fresh peach slices to our traditional tomato, basil, mozzarella combo. It was divine. I’ve made at least half a dozen Cobb salads over the last couple weeks with all the regular goodies like grilled chicken, hardboiled eggs, avocado and tomatoes but I’ve also added sliced nectarines, homemade pickled red onions (incredibly easy to do) and crumbled goat cheese. I can’t get enough.
The blackberry bushes growing along our fence are pumping out berries constantly and it’s a little hard to keep up with the picking some days. I used the topping from the cherry crisp I shared here around the Fourth of July and swapped the cherry base for a peach, blackberry and raspberry crisp. It was so good, I had to have it for breakfast the next day. If you have no idea what I’m talking about in regards to the cherry crisp, search the newspaper archives for the recipe. It’s an easy, satisfying and versatile recipe. I can promise you’ll make it again and again, just swap out the fruit for whatever is in season or you happen to be in the mood for.
After a quick weekend away at my daughter’s soccer tournament, I arrived home to half a dozen peaches at peak ripeness bordering on overripe and mushy. I decided to make a batch of blueberry-peach muffins as a surprise for my kids and the results did not disappoint. I added a light streusel topping for a little something extra special, but that step could certainly be skipped. If you love streusel though, you might want to double that part of the recipe and add extra when you make these at home. Tart blueberries and sweet peaches are the one of my absolute favorite combinations. In muffin form, it just can’t be beat.
Peach Blueberry Muffins
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup softened salted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup 2 percent or whole milk
1 cup plain non-fat Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups blueberries
1 1/2 cups peeled and diced peaches
Streusel topping
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter and sugar, mixing on medium-high until smooth and well-incorporated, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix again. Don’t worry if the batter looks lumpy and uneven. Add the greek yogurt and milk and give the batter another mix until just combined.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mixing until just barely combined. Do not overman. The batter should just barely come together. Using a wood spoon or spatula, gently stir in the fruit.
Use a cookie scoop to spoon the batter into the muffin tin, filling each cup to the top of the muffin liner. Sprinkle with about a teaspoon of streusel and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes or until the muffins have golden edges, the berries are beginning to bubble and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Remove muffins from the oven and allow to cool for five minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Recipe makes 24 muffins.
Streusel Topping
3 tablespoons softened salted butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup quick oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
In a small bowl, combine all ingredients and using a fork, mix together until ingredients clump together and the butter is broken into pea-size pieces.