After an army of ants invaded our home and ate their way through many of my baking ingredients, I drove down to my parents’ house for a slightly extended visit—and to borrow their kitchen. They graciously cleared off a few shelves in their pantry for my freshly purchased flour and chocolate chips, then gave me free reign of the dining room for photographing my baked goodies. I have the best parents!
Shortly after I arrived on my parents’ doorstep, some of their college friends flew into town from the Midwest for a week-long vacation. My parents planned on taking them and their adorable 3-year-old daughter around the San Francisco suburbs to see the sights before heading up to their cabin in the mountains for a couple days of leisurely hikes and swimming at the lake.
Although tempted to tag along, I thought that 6 people in their small cabin (with just one bathroom!) might be a bit too cozy for me, so I stayed home and looked forward to a few uninterrupted days of baking, photographing, and watching the MLB All-Star Game. (In case you’re new around here, I’m a huge baseball fan!)
To surprise everyone when they returned home from the cabin, I decided to make healthy breakfast treats for them to enjoy. I pulled out my mixing bowls and whole wheat flour from the pantry shelves and started whisking together ingredients. But when I went to put the carton of a dozen eggs, sans the one I had just cracked into the bowl, back in the fridge…
They fell onto the ground and cracked into one gooey, golden yellow mess. Turns out the fridge was way fuller than the pantry, and I had a much harder time finding space for my perishable ingredients in there!
Oh well. If there’s no crying in baseball and no crying over spilled milk, I suppose there’s no crying over scrambled eggs spread across the kitchen floor either!
But on the bright side, I managed to mix up the rest of the batter and slide these Small Batch Maple Peach Muffins into the oven without another mishap! I nearly wished I had doubled the recipe though… Their sweet scent wafting around the kitchen practically tempted me to eat half of them in one sitting!
The dry ingredients are fairly predictable: whole wheat flour, leaveners, salt, and cinnamon. My grandma always bakes her peach pie with cinnamon, so I add it to almost all of my peach recipes too! Grandma’s peach pie is literally the best thing about summers for our family… But since I probably shouldn’t eat pie for breakfast, these muffins will do just fine!
With very little butter and one egg white, these muffins get the majority of their tender texture from Greek yogurt. It’s my secret weapon in healthier baking recipes! Greek yogurt adds the same moisture as extra butter or oil but for a fraction of the calories. Plus it gives your baked goods a little protein boost!
Now for the star of the show… The peaches! We’ll add a generous amount because I hate biting into a fruity muffin only to come up with a mouthful of bread and not a single morsel of fruit. Peaches that are fresh, frozen and thawed, or canned in 100% juice and drained will all work for this recipe, which means you can make these muffins all year round!
And that’s definitely a good thing in my book. ?? And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your muffins and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Small Batch Maple Peach Muffins | | Print |
- 1 cup (120g) whole wheat flour (measured correctly)
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tbsp (7g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
- 1 large egg white, room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup (60g) plain nonfat Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup (60mL) pure maple syrup
- 2 tbsp (30mL) nonfat milk
- ¾ cup (155g) diced peaches (about 1 large)
- Preheat the oven to 350°F, and lightly coat 6 muffin cups with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg white, and vanilla. Stir in the Greek yogurt, mixing until no large lumps remain. Stir in the maple syrup. Alternate between adding the flour mixture and milk to the syrup mixture, beginning and ending with the flour, and stirring just until incorporated. Fold in the peaches.
- Evenly divide the batter between the prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350°F for 19-21 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.
For a gluten-free version, I recommend the following blend: ½ cup (60g) millet flour, ¼ cup (30g) tapioca flour, ¼ cup (30g) brown rice flour, and ¾ tsp xanthan gum.
Peaches that are fresh, frozen and thawed, or canned in 100% juice and drained will all work for this recipe.
This recipe is easily doubled!
{gluten-free, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
Our family loved your honey peach muffin recipe. I’m looking forward to trying this infant friendly version. Thanks for sharing!
My pleasure Jess! I hope you enjoy these muffins just as much as my previous recipe!
Is there an acceptable non-dairy substitute for the yogurt? I’m dairy/soy/nut/egg-free for my little guy. I’m not sure what purpose the yogurt has in the baking process, so I can’t figure out a replacement 🙂
I talk about the role of the Greek yogurt in the blog post above the recipe Michelle! It adds both moisture and structure. If you can find coconut-based yogurt, that should work! It’ll change the nutrition info, but I think that should fit into your little guy’s diet!
All of your peach recipes are so perfect for summer!
Thanks Shannon! If only peach season was longer… 😉
AHH, how rude of those ants. I’d happily let you borrow my kitchen too if muffins were the turnout. Actually I’d let you borrow regardless. 😉
You’re so sweet Brittany! One of these days, I’m definitely taking you up on that so we can FINALLY meet! ♥
1. I love these photos, Amy! The light is so perfect! 2. The peaches in these muffins make them sound so addicting! 3. I almost want to cry for you after hearing your story of the army of ants – I know those woes way too well and it makes my skin crawl just read about it!
1. You’re so sweet Sarah! You’re one of the best food photographers I know, so that means a lot coming from you. ♥ 2. I’ll have to make a GF batch for you! 3. Uggh aren’t ants the worst?? I hope you haven’t had to deal with any recently!!
This sounds like the perfect breakfast. My mouth wouldn’t stop watering as I read it!
Thank you!
Ahhhh, I hate when ants take over the kitchen! I hope you got that situation sorted…Love how light these muffins look. I’m sure everyone enjoyed them when they got back from the cabin!
Thanks Lisa! I had to make another batch… I think they hiked more than they thought up there! 😉
Thank you for one more, great recipe.
I made the muffins today, with the purpose of using up some whole wheat flour that takes too much space in my pantry.
I changed the recipe a bit, mixing regular flour with the whole wheat one.
I overbaked them, due to a new silicone muffin tray (they did not brown that much). I substituted cherries for peaches, as the latter were nowhere to find.
Now I know that next time I will 1) bake in a regular muffin tray, 2) use more milk in the recipe to balance the flour, 3) add lemon juice to balance the sweet cherries.
Otherwise it’s a great recipe to experiment with. 😀
I’m glad you enjoyed the muffins Agnes! 🙂
These are delicious, Amy! I am going to bake another batch this weekend. Do you think mango would work in place of the peach?
I’m so glad you enjoyed the muffins Renee! I think that mango sounds absolutely amazing — and I’d love to hear how that turns out for you! 🙂
Can I use whole eggs? Would I have to cut back on moisture elsewhere, such as less milk or yogurt?
Yes, you can use a whole egg! The muffins may take ever so slightly longer to bake, but you shouldn’t need to make any other adjustments to the recipe. I can’t wait to hear what you think of them Ulanda! 🙂