Peachy Keen Muffins

These Peachy Keen muffins are both delicious and pretty – a happy, sunny muffin, gluten and dairy free, for your breakfast table, or a satisfying snack during the day. Muffins are one of the first things I learned how to bake and I still think muffins are great! They are a defined little cake, they bake in a short amount of time so good to have recipes for muffins on hand for last minute afternoon guests dropping by, they pack into lunches or a road trip or a hike easily, they can be sweet or savory, they are satisfying, they freeze well and best of all, you can include so much healthy nutrition in muffins.    

Oat Milk is a great alternative plant-based milk when wanting to reduce your dairy intake. It is vegan, and being made from oats, is nut free and it is high in beta glucan, a soluble fiber. When ingested, beta glucan creates a gel-like substance within the gut that binds to cholesterol to reduce its absorption and this in turn supports the lowering of blood cholesterol levels, especially levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol, which has been linked to heart disease.

Oats and Oat Flour (ground up whole oats) - a nutrient dense, gluten free whole grain, high in fiber and higher amounts of protein than other grains. Oats are a rich source of manganese and phosphorous and thiamin (VitB1).

Hemp Hearts are rich in essential fatty acids, are a high-quality protein source, contain VitB, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron and zinc.

Cinnamon, Ginger - each a powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory.  Ginger is beneficial for brain health.

As always, when you make this recipe, I would love to see your creation so please post a photo of your Peachy Keen Muffins goodness and tag my IG account #RenataCollective or leave a comment with your thoughts!

Prep Time: 10 minutes / Cook Time: 25-30 minutes / Makes 12 Muffins

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup Oat Milk - Alternate: another non-dairy milk of your choice

  • 2/3 Cup Large Flake Oats

  • 1/3 Cup Maple Syrup

  • ¼ Cup Brown Sugar

  • 1 Egg

  • ¼ Cup Olive Oil

  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla

  • 1 Cup Gluten Free Flour – I use Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1

  • 1 Cup Oat Flour simply grind oats in a feed processor or blender until a flour consistency

  • 2 Tablespoons Hemp Hearts

  • 1 teaspoon Baking Powder

  • ¾ teaspoon Baking Soda

  • 1½ teaspoon Ground Cinnamon + extra for sprinkling on top of the muffins

  • 1 teaspoon Ground Ginger

  • 1/3 Cup Dried Apricots – cut up (I use scissors to cut dried apricots)

  • 1 Jar or Can (28 oz) Sliced or Halved Peaches – alternate: fresh peaches, sliced, skin on or off, your choice.

  • ½ Cup Shredded Coconut – to sprinkle on top of the muffins

How It’s Made

  • Preheat your oven to 350°F and line the muffin pan cups with paper or silicone liners.

  • In a large mixing bowl, add the oat milk, large flake oats, maple syrup, brown sugar, egg, olive oil and vanilla. Whisk to combine and set aside for 5-10 minutes while you get the dry ingredients ready and cut up the apricots.

  • In a medium mixing bowl, mix together the gluten free flour, oat flour, hemp hearts, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon and ground ginger.

  • Cut your apricots into small pieces. I find it easies to cut them with scissors. I used two types of dried apricots in this recipe. The brighter coloured ones (in the photo) are regular ones.  The dark ones are organic Turkish apricots.  Both work equally well if you only have one or the other to use in this muffin recipe. You can also cut up fresh or jarred/canned peaches – just make sure you have enough remaining to put two slices on each muffin top.

  • Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and give it a gentle stir. Stir in the cup up apricots. Let the batter sit for 5 minutes to let the oat flour absorb some of the liquid.

  • Spoon the batter into the lined muffin cups.

  • Top each muffin with 2 peach slices, leaning on top of the other. You could also dice the peaches and spoon some on top of each muffin.

  • Garnish with shredded coconut and a dash of cinnamon on each muffin.

  • Bake for 25 minutes.  Check for doneness by sticking a sharp knife into one of the muffins.  A few crumbs on the knife are ok, but goopy batter is not, so bake for another 5 minutes and check again until the muffins are done.

  • These muffins are best stored in an airtight container on the counter for 2 days and then moved to the fridge.  Or you can store the muffins in the fridge after baking and cooling. Reheat in a toaster oven or the microwave.

Enjoy!

Variations

  • Add ½ cup chopped sliced almonds to the batter instead of apricots or peaches.  Add an additional ¼ cup brown sugar to the batter. Still top each muffin with the peaches and also top each muffin with additional chopped sliced almonds.  

  • Use regular wheat flour if there are no sensitivities to gluten.    

  • Use dairy milk if there are no sensitivities to dairy.

Note:

The apricots and peaches help to sweeten these muffins. If you wish more sweetness, add an additional ¼ cup brown sugar to the batter.

Baked Goods, Breakfast, Baby and Toddler, Dairy Free, Gift giving, Gluten Free, Healthy eating, Nut Free, Snacks, VegetarianRenata RichardsonPeachy Keen Muffins, antiinflammatory, Anti-inflammatory, Antioxidant, plant-based protein, plant-based fiber, fibre, brain health, Heart Health, Gut HealthComment