One of my favorite food blogs to follow is Christina’s Cucina. She’s so cool. Scottish-Italian, living in California, and traveling the world (pre-quarantine). She takes gorgeous photos of the places she visits and the dishes she creates. And the best part? She’s so nice! Even with her huge following and busy schedule, she offered to jump on a phone call with me to share her knowledge and help me maximize my blog. Do you see the fancy new recipe template below? That’s thanks to her coaching! And just the tip of the iceberg. I have so many thanks to give her and that’s something you and I now have in common — you’ll be thanking her too when you try this peach muffin recipe that she’s perfected.
Completely free of butter, low in sugar, and high in fresh peaches, this recipe is perfect for the season. The fat comes from the yogurt and the olive oil, both of which contribute to the soft crumb and the rich flavor. The interior texture is fluffy and bread-y. It doesn’t have that dense, stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth effect that some ultra moist muffins have. The exterior has a slight crunch because each muffin top gets sprinkled with coarse sugar. It’s heavenly.
My favorite aspect though is just how easy this recipe is to make! When butter is out of the picture in a recipe like this, it makes it really quick to create the batter because you don’t have that added step of creaming the butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Instead you just whisk together the dry and wet ingredients, fold in the fresh peaches and they are ready to bake. It’s ideal for a beginner baker and/or the busy baker that wants something homemade but quick!
Having grown up in California, I was always very lucky to have fresh fruit and vegetables year-round. A spring strawberry or a late summer bunch of grapes…they’re just unbeatable! When I moved to Texas, I learned pretty quickly that the figs for example, just aren’t the same here. They’re less juicy and flavorful. What I wasn’t prepared for though were the Southern peaches. Oh my goodness. They are next level: huge, unbruised, fragrant, and sweet. And added to a baked good, it’s just unlike any peach dessert I had growing up in California. I was also unprepared for the watermelons here. Wow. Every time I buy a watermelon here, I take it home and proclaim it’s the absolute best watermelon I’ve ever tasted in my life. The point is, wherever you live, you probably have some of the best seasonal offerings and maybe some that are less than extraordinary. But goodness gracious, I hope you can find some peaches for this recipe!
Peach Muffins with Olive Oil
No butter, low sugar, and full of fresh peach, these muffins are as wholesome as they are delicious! Christina's Cucina's recipe incorporates yogurt for a soft and rich crumb and olive oil to balance the fruit's sweetness. They're the ideal summer bake – quick, easy, and delicious!
- 2 cups Flour
- 2 tsp. Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. Baking soda
- 1/4 tsp. Salt
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 2 Eggs
- 1/2 cup Extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup Plain yogurt
- 2 large Peaches, fresh & chopped ((~1 1/2 cups))
- Turbinado sugar (To Finish)
Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Grease or line 12 muffin molds with muffin liners; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar.
In a separate smaller bowl, whisk the eggs, olive oil, and yogurt together until smooth and creamy. Gently stir the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture, until just combined.
Delicately fold the chopped peaches evenly into the batter; be careful not to over-mix.
Transfer the batter evenly between the muffin molds. Sprinkle with coarse sugar (or pearled sugar) if desired. Bake for 18-20 minutes until the center is puffed and the tops are lightly golden or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out batter-free.
Recipe courtesy of the lovely Christina’s Cucina. Thank you!
A Bee Bakes 
1 Comment