Peach and Rosewater Muffins

 

This was for the rest of the peaches my co-worker brought in.  We just started making new sweets at work, and they're really good.  It doesn't help that I've been closing more and snacking on them at the end of the day.  I promised to turn the peaches into something slightly healthier.

I started with a nice recipe from Christina's Cucina and made it just a tiny bit lighter.  The best I could do with the oil was to sub applesauce for half of it.  I keep nonfat yogurt at home.  And I used the liquid egg white masquerading as whole egg that I'm probably going to keep buying as long as it's cheaper than in-shell eggs.  An oatmeal crumble topping brought in a touch of fiber, and that's my breakfast muffin.

I chose to accent the peaches with rosewater because I have some.  If you want to use vanilla or almond extract, or even coconut extract, go ahead!  And if you would rather make loaves or coffee cake shapes, that is perfectly acceptable.  You just need to grease the loaf or cake pan, which you don't need to do with muffin liners.  Not into oatmeal?  Sprinkle with powdered sugar after cooling or drizzle with a thin icing.  What I love about quick bread recipes is how adaptable they are.

2 C flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
2/3 C sugar
2 eggs
1/2 C olive oil (or 1/4 C + 1/4 C applesauce)
1 C plain yogurt
*1/2 tsp rosewater or other extract
*1-1/2 C chopped peaches, either fresh or frozen & defrosted
2 Tb rolled oats, moistened and tossed in 1/2 tsp sugar, optional

1.  Preheat oven to 350º and line a muffin tin with papers or grease a loaf pan.

2.  In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  In a separate bowl, stir together eggs, oil, (applesauce), yogurt, and rosewater.

3.  Stir wet mixture into dry until almost incorporated.  Then stir in peaches.  It's ok if there are still lumps.

4.  Portion into muffin tin.  I used the 3 Tb cookie scoop, which almost fills a muffin liner, and got 15 full cups.  If you do the standard 3/4 full, you'll get at least 18.  In a small bowl, get oatmeal damp with a few drops of water, then toss with 1/2 tsp sugar.  Sprinkle tops of muffins.

5.  Bake 18-20 minutes, until they pass the toothpick test.  They don't have enough sugar in them to get golden brown.  Cool 5 minutes, remove from pan, and allow to cool to room temperature.

Makes 15-18

Difficulty rating  :)