Joy The Baker's Brown Butter Peach Cobbler Muffins

 

To say I've wanted to make these muffins for a long time is a total understatement. I received Joy The Baker's first cookbook right before my son started Kindergarten. I participated in The Joy The Baker Cook-off and made all sorts of delicious recipes. However, the one I wanted to make THE MOST were her Peach Cobbler Muffins made with brown butter. The reason...peaches are my absolute favorite!  Alas, no one else in the house cares for them much, so I'm always on my own when it comes to peaches, which is why I never made the muffins way back in 2012. No one needs to eat a dozen peach muffins all on their own. 

I NEVER forgot about those muffins. I thought about them every summer, especially in peach season, but I never made them because again, I'd have to eat them all on my own. Then a few weekends ago I went to Peachapalooza at a local orchard and bought some beautiful fresh peaches. Of course they all ripened at the same time and there I was trying to eat all 15 peaches in the span of a few days. On day three of making peaches my sole diet,  I surrendered and decided that I was using the rest of the peaches to FINALLY make Joy The Baker's Peach Cobbler Muffins with Brown Butter!

Here's where the whole story comes together. My son was still my little buddy about ready to go into Kindergarten when I put these muffins on my TO MAKE list. In fact, I can remember him standing in the kitchen with me holding his blanket and helping me make Joy's Chocolate Fudge Brownies with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting. Fast forward almost 10 years and now he is still my buddy, but he is no longer little, he's taller than I am (heck, he's taller than my husband) and on Monday I took him to his freshman open house for HIGH SCHOOL! Say what????

So yes, I waited an incredibly long time to make these muffins, pretty much 10 years. Once I tasted them I knew that I had been missing out all those years! There are three wonderful highlights about these muffins: first of all, the brown butter! That brown butter adds the most wonderful flavor to the muffins. It almost like a touch of caramel or butterscotch flavor. Then you have that crumb topping. Oh Joy! I like A LOT of crumb topping and there is a lot on these muffins. Last but not least, these muffins are full of ripe juicy peaches. And guess what? I didn't have to eat them on my own because my husband (who doesn't care about muffins or peaches) wanted to know what smelled so glorious downstairs and before you know it he was eating them and declaring them the best muffins I ever made (his favorite part was the touch of cinnamon in the muffins).

These are simply the best! If peaches are your thing, don't sleep on these muffins like I did for 10 years. In fact, go ahead and make them now while it's still peach season!

 

Brown Butter Peach Cobbler Muffins

Recipe Adapted from Joy The Baker

via Joy The Baker Cookbook

Makes 12 muffins 

For The Muffins

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

7 tablespoons butter

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1/3 cup milk

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1-1/4 cups diced peaches

For The Topping

3 tablespoons butter, cold

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

pinch of salt

pinch of ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 12-cup muffin pan and set aside. You can also use cupcake papers for this recipe.

To make the muffins: In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In a medium bowl. wish together egg, yolk, milk, and vanilla. While whisking, slowly drizzle in the warm butter, making sure to scrape any brown bits into the egg mixture as well. Whisk until well incorporated.

Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture all at once. Fold together with a spatula. Once no flour bits remain, fold in the diced peaches. Divide the batter between the muffin cups.

To make the topping: Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and blend together with your fingers until crumbly. Butter will be the size of oats and small pebbles. Divide the topping among the muffin cups on top of the batter.

Bake muffins for 15 to 18 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of one of the muffins comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan 20 minutes before removing. To remove, run a butter knife along the edges of the muffin pan and gently scoop out.

Muffins will last, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to 3 days.