It's the (Peach) Pits

RIP Oatmeal Peach Plum Muffiny Goodness

This one was a heartbreaker. I woke up this morning craving a big buttermilk muffin, but blueberries seem to have disappeared so I decided to try peaches and plums. Searching around the Internet, I only found recipes for dense muffins, many with traditional peach crumble topping. But I wasn't in the mood for crumble, just fluffy, fruity goodness. So I swapped out one cup of blueberries in a previous recipe, for one cup of cubed peaches and plums. 1 peach, 1 plum, and 1 red plum - to be exact.


I wasn't sure how they would turn out so I decided to experiment further. I made 3 with the exact same recipe and 3 with some oatmeal swapped in. I think I would toss another peach or plum into the original recipe, but they didn't disappoint.


They were perfectly moist and the fruit distributed equally (I was worried since peaches are heavier than blueberries).


If the oatmeal muffins had come out (literally) I would post the recipe, but they were a delicious disaster. While I did butter my muffin pan, I suppose the problem was that I didn't use enough liquid. I swapped out 1/2 c. flour for 1/2 c. oats (soaked in 1/4 c. buttermilk for 15 minutes). While the results were still fluffy (and a little heartier, as hoped) the muffin wouldn't let go of the pan! And so, they weren't muffins afterall. But I did enjoy a tasty bowl of muffin crumbs.


The tops were like oatmeal cookies and the combination of oats and fruit was breakfast heaven. I think I will try it again, perhaps using applesauce (as suggested by Katie about a previous post) or more buttermilk. I'm afraid of using more butter or oil, as I don't want them to turn out rubbery, but I welcome any comments you've got!

For a more successful use of peaches try...Peach Pie

• All butter pie crusts
  
• 4 c. peaches, peeled and sliced
  
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 1/2 T. cornstarch
• 1/8 t. salt
• 1/2 c. water
• 1/8 t. cinnamon
• 2 T. butter, sliced
  

This recipe calls for a 9" pie plate but I had a smaller dish and used only one crust, rolled out thinner. It tasted great but didn't look so pretty! Next time, I'll make the whole thing. Mix sugar, cornstarch, salt and water and fold in the peaches. Pour into pie crust, sprinkle with cinnamon and dot with butter. Cover with top crust and bake at 220C (425F) for 10 minutes, reduce heat to 180C (350F) and bake 35 minutes.