I have missed my morning tea routine. Since living through the hottest July in Iowa in over 60 years, I haven't felt much like drinking warm tea in the morning (the average temperature was something like 78 degrees, which makes it sound much better than it was. It was awful). I woke up too hot already! Now that it's approaching fall, however, the mornings are cool and refreshing, and begging for hot tea.
With tea made, it's time to start muffins! I chose the ginger peach muffins from Kim Boyce's cookbook Good to the Grain. Her cookbook is amazing, you should really check it out. She guides you through every step, plus uses a variety of whole grain flours (amaranth and teff anyone?) to make super tasty treats.
The ginger peach muffins stood out this morning because early September is the perfect season for peaches, and the ginger smells like fall.
I know to respect the original author of the recipe, I'm supposed to make the recipe once following the directions exactly as written, no matter how tempting it is to make substitutions and small adjustments. I've never been good at that. I try, especially with Kim's recipes, because I can tell she really knows what she's doing.
And, admittedly, I have a lot to learn.
So I used the full amount of butter the recipe calls for. (Usually, I always sub out half and add applesauce for the other half). But, I didn't grease the muffin tins with butter, I used cooking spray (come on, it's way easier and not nearly as messy!). And, I didn't have sour cream, I had plain yogurt, so I used that instead. (I actually never buy sour cream, because I always sub plain yogurt for it. Yes, even on baked potatoes and enchiladas).
And I used nonfat milk, instead of whole milk, which the recipe calls for.
I know, I'm sorry Kim. It's just the dietitian in me. Why use whole milk, when you can get away with nonfat? Cuts fat and calories, and no one knows!
And one more thing - I didn't measure the grated ginger out. Or the crystallized ginger. I totally eye-balled the amounts. Which means, my guesses were probably no where near the specific amounts the recipe called for.
There is one thing I definitely trusted the recipe on. Kim says to let the muffins cool before eating, because the oat flour is moist when it's warm. When I was trying to twist the muffins out of their cups to cool on their sides, they were so soft! Some of them got a bit destroyed. But after 15 minutes of cooling, they had firmed up. So, trust us on the waiting!
Despite all my small adjustments to the recipe - the muffins tasted awesome! They had such a true ginger flavor (maybe from all the ginger I grated and didn't measure). And every so often, one bite had a chunk of crystallized ginger in it!
There is no ginger powder here! They don't taste like mini gingerbreads with a peach on top. It's a much more simple ginger flavor, glazed with a fruity peach on top.
The recipe is simple enough. Start by mixing the dry ingredients together.
Then, mix the wet ingredients together.
Then, add the wet to the dry and you're done with the batter. Now the only thing left is to scoop them into muffin tins and lay the sliced peaches on top!
And, wait for them to cool before digging in! I know, it's hard. But trust me, it will be worth it.
Ginger Peach Muffins
Adapted from Kim Boyce's Good to the Grain
Butter for tins
2 TBSP + 1 tsp grated fresh ginger
Peach Topping:
1 lg or 2 small peaches, ripe but firm
1 TBSP butter
1 TBSP honey
Dry Mix:
1 c oat flour
3/4 c all-purpose flour
1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c dark brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
Wet Mix:
3/4 stick butter, melted and cooled slightly
3/4 c milk (I used nonfat)
1/2 c plain yogurt
1 egg
3 TBSP finely chopped crystallized ginger
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make sure the rack is in the middle. Grease muffin tins with butter.
Grate the ginger into a large bowl. Some will be used for the topping, and the rest goes in the batter.
Start with the peach topping. Slice the peach into 1/4 inch slices. Add butter, honey and 1 tsp of grated ginger to a medium-sized skillet. Heat on medium-high heat until the mixture is melted and starting to bubble. Add the peaches, and toss the pan to coat them. Set aside.
Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl (but not the one with the grated ginger in it - that's for the wet ingredients). Whisk the wet ingredients into the bowl with the grated ginger. Using a rubber spatula, mix the wet ingredients into the dry and combine.
Scoop the batter into muffin tins, mounding it slightly above the edge. Toss the pan of peaches once more, to coat with the juices. Tuck one peach slice slightly into the batter, and lay another slice across the top. Make a V-shape with the peach slices. Spoon pan juices over the peaches.
Bake for 24-28 minutes. The muffins are done when they smell nutty and the bottoms are golden brown. The edges of the peaches should be caramelized. Twist each muffin out and place it on its side in the cup to cool. This will ensure it stays crusty instead of getting soggy. (Note: I tried this and the muffins pretty much fell apart. Maybe they needed to bake longer, or maybe I just needed to wait for them to cool a bit before trying to twist them.)
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