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Posted on Mon, Aug 17, 2009 : 6:25 a.m.

A2eatwrite: peach cherry muffins

By Jennifer Shikes Haines

Shikes Haines - Peach Cherry Muffins
Whether you shop at the Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Chelsea or Westside Farmers Markets, or whether you go to the People's Food Co-op, Meijer, Busch's, Plum or Hiller's, you can't help but notice it's peak season for both cherries and peaches. It's not hard to find local versions of these no matter where you shop.

I was getting together for afternoon tea with a good friend and I had volunteered to bring something baked. Peach Cherry Muffins seemed like a perfect match.

As with most of my baked goods, I was shooting for a healthier version that relies on fruit as the major base, rather than a great deal of fat and sugar. These are a bit more decadent than my Blueberry Lemon Cornmeal Muffins, but just by a bit.

A2eatwrite's Peach Cherry Muffins

Ingredients

1 cup peaches, peeled, pitted and chopped 1 cup cherries, pitted and sliced in half 1/2 cup oat bran 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour 1 cup flour 1/2 cup sugar 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 cup lowfat buttermilk 2 duck eggs (2 large chicken eggs can be substituted) 1 TBS canola oil 1 tsp almond extract 1 tsp sugar for sprinkling

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Spray a 12-muffin pan with cooking spray or grease muffin cups with a little canola oil.

3. In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients.

4. In a separate bowl beat eggs, then whisk in the buttermilk, canola oil and almond extract.

5. Blend the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

6. Stir in the fruit.

7. Using a melon baller or other scoop, fill the muffin openings as completely as you can.

8. Bake for 18 minutes, or until golden brown on top and springy to the touch.

9. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove, loosening muffins with butter knife, and continue cooling on rack out of the pan.

Note: It's important to wait the full 10 minutes, because the weight of the fruit can make the muffins pull apart if you try to remove them sooner.

Number of Servings: 12

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size: 1 muffin

Amount Per Serving Calories 145.4 Total Fat 3.3 g Saturated Fat 0.7 g Polyunsaturated Fat 0.6 g Monounsaturated Fat 1.6 g Cholesterol 104.0 mg Sodium 39.0 mg Potassium 146.2 mg Total Carbohydrate 25.6 g Dietary Fiber 1.6 g Sugars 11.1 g Protein 4.4 g

As always, nutrition info supplied by the recipe calculator function at Sparkrecipes.com.

I'm Jennifer Haines and my blog is a2eatwrite. Please contact me at: Jenshaines at gmail dot com.

Comments

Jennifer Shikes Haines

Thu, Sep 3, 2009 : 12:18 p.m.

Hey Zak - just commented at your wonderful blog! Your recipe looks off the hook, but as I said there, better for your age group than mine.;-) Thanks so much for the link, too!

Jennifer Shikes Haines

Tue, Aug 18, 2009 : 11:21 a.m.

@Ben - I have that problem, as well. Especially with peaches. @Jenny - you're very welcome!

jennyjm

Tue, Aug 18, 2009 : 11:06 a.m.

These look delicious, Jennifer. Thanks!

Ben the cook

Tue, Aug 18, 2009 : 11:03 a.m.

Those muffins look delicious, but my problem is that fresh fruit never lasts in my kitchen. I love to bite into their natural freshness and they are always gone when I try to make something with them. I'll save some peaches and get some cherries next time :D

Jennifer Shikes Haines

Tue, Aug 18, 2009 : 8:06 a.m.

Lilac, me, too - I like the ease of the oat bran, though. Do you toast oatmeal before putting it in the muffins? I always do that, but I'm not really sure it's necessary. Allison - I wrote you about ww pastry flour and local sources. Dee - chicken eggs work just fine.

Dee

Mon, Aug 17, 2009 : 8:36 p.m.

Oh yum, but I can't eat a duck egg...I can't eat duck anything! Chicken will do!

Allison Bondie

Mon, Aug 17, 2009 : 8:24 p.m.

What a great combination! I need to get into some WW flour. There's no excuse...

Lilacspecs

Mon, Aug 17, 2009 : 11:59 a.m.

They look yum. I'm a fan of oatmeal muffins myself.

Jennifer Shikes Haines

Mon, Aug 17, 2009 : 9:26 a.m.

Thanks, Goofball! Mary - I particularly find that whole wheat pastry flour is an easy fix. I rarely use all-purpose in baked goods anymore. And I agree, if it "feels" like a treat, but it's relatively healthy, that's a good goal!

Mary Bilyeu

Mon, Aug 17, 2009 : 8:54 a.m.

These sound wonderful! I love that you use whole wheat flour -- people would be amazed at how you can sneak that stuff past them, improving their health while they think they're eating a treat....

Goofball

Mon, Aug 17, 2009 : 6:13 a.m.

sounds pretty good!