Just Peachy

Peaches - MILLIONS of Peaches... 14 years ago Andy and I picked bushels of peaches and made 9 gallons of jam, 5 pies, and 2 huge cobblers. The jam was for our wedding favors. Clearly peaches are a favorite. We even have a peach tree... who currently is a freeloading non producing peach tree. Well, that's not fair, it has one peach. The tree is using ALL it's everything to pour into that one peach, it's gonna be amazing once we can pick it... A-maz-ing. Meanwhile I wanted to can some peaches for winter. My friend told me her local Meijer had canning peaches - that was up in Wisconsin. So I googled and my local store had them! Yay! I called to see if I could have 2 cases set aside, what are peaches? Oh man... dude didn't know what peaches were. Ok... ordered them for pick up online... morning of the pickup - order canceled. I bet that same guy was like... DUDE... what's a peach? So we called another store - they had them! WOO! So Bronwyn and I went there on my lunch break, got 32 pounds of peaches! That afternoon my mom went to that local store? They had cases of peaches just sitting there. /facepalm. Too bad... we had them, had an adventure getting them. Done and done. I canned a bunch but also wanted to bake with them. These muffins were and are amazing. Warm fall flavors with the summery freshness of peaches! And the glaze? Andy says you can have too much frosting but never enough glaze, Bronwyn would disagree. Anyway... super yummy muffins, here's hoping we can make them again next year when our trees hopefully rebound... To be totally honest - we pruned our fruit trees REALLY hard last fall on the advice of a pro. So either we were too aggressive or we had a spring freeze I was unaware about. I know a tree down a few blocks that is usually loaded with peaches has zero, but two houses down a tree I've never seen have peaches is loaded this year. I'm confused... SO confused.

Peach Streusel Muffins
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
1/3 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2/3 cup all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)

Muffins
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup yogurt or sour cream, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (spoon & leveled)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons milk, at room temperature
1 and 3/4 cups peeled, chopped peaches (about 3 peaches)*

Vanilla Icing (Optional)
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 Tablespoons heavy cream (or milk for a thinner consistency)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions
Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray a 12-count muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with cupcake liners. Set aside.
Make the crumb topping: Mix the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter together in a small bowl until combined. Add the flour and use a fork to gently mix until crumbs form. Don’t over-mix into a paste. Just mix until it is crumbly. Set aside.
Make the muffins: Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, allspice, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.
Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and both sugars together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, yogurt or sour cream, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed for 1 minute, then turn up to high speed until the mixture is combined and mostly creamy. (It’s ok if it appears somewhat curdled.) Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer running on low speed, add the dry ingredients and milk into the wet ingredients and beat until no flour pockets remain. Fold in the chopped peaches.
Spoon the batter evenly into each cup or liner, filling each all the way to the top. Spoon crumb topping on each, gently pressing it down so it sticks.
Bake for 5 minutes at 425°F; then, without opening the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350°F (177°C). Bake for an additional 16–19 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 21–24 minutes. Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the muffin pan, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling. When warm, the muffins are quite fragile because of the wet peaches. Let them cool for at least 15 minutes before unwrapping and eating.
Make the icing: Whisk all of the icing ingredients together and drizzle over warm or cooled muffins.
Iced or plain muffins stay fresh covered at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.