I don't usually refer to myself as awesome.
I don't plan to now.
But, though I may not be able to describe myself as awesome,
I can unreservedly say that these muffins I made are just that:
AWESOME.
These are so my new favorite muffins. I made some others a few weeks ago, which I will post on here (because they were delicious), but there is no muffin to compare with these muffins. Maybe they're just my personal taste...but whoa.
Sorry if I get you too excited, so that you make these and don't think they're that great. I personally LOVE THEM.
The other morning I had a peachy-crumb muffin for breakfast at Bru Coffeehouse. My favorite treat at Bello Mundo Cafe is their rosemary-lemon-olive oil shortbread cookie. Their other shortbread cookie is also amazing, and my mother's favorite: orange-cinnamon-olive oil.
I tried to mesh some of the key flavors of these two treats: peach, olive oil, and cinnamon. I wasn't sure how it would work; when I tasted the batter all I got was olive oil. But the final product is scrumptious.
Matty and I woke up early this morning to bus-trek to SLO, as it was a barista's last day (Her name is Brenda and she rocks. She is incomparably more amazing than my amazing muffins, and the one who mentioned baking to me this morning and, therefore, made me feel like baking! Brenda, should you be so bored as to be reading my blog, I officially dedicate these amazing muffins to you.) I fell asleep under clear skies and woke up shrouded in fog. My day was made right there. We were cold walking from the transit center, and as we walked into Bello Mundo we were hit both with the warmth of the shop, the cozy light enhanced by the red of the coffee cups and rainbow of the bar stools, and the most genuine "Hey guys!" you ever heard. I really hope to save that image for a long, long time. I was glad of the cold weather not only because I am always glad of cold weather, but also because, for some reason, that morning I had decided that I didn't care that it was August and I was going to wear tights and Ugg boots. Why? No idea. I've been thinking a lot about school (move's in three weeks), and am probably mentally rushing September along. Later today I had a sudden urge to make or work on a doll (which I usually get only in cold weather), and then to bake. Thus, these muffins combine summer (fresh peach and olive oil) with fall (cinnamon and vanilla).
I hope you enjoy them!
Peach-Olive Oil-Cinnamon-Vanilla Muffins
Makes six standard muffins.
Ingredients
1 cup flour
1 (slightly over-filled) tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 peach: thickly diced
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp. honey
1/2 egg (Yeah. I know. I have Bantam chickens, and usually use 1 Bantam egg. You can also separate a normal egg, use half the white, and squeeze half the yolk out of its little yolk-case. Sounds weird, but I do it all the time. I don't always want a whole dozen muffins.)
2 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit; lightly grease bottoms and lower half of sides of standard muffin tin with olive oil. Whisk together dry ingredients. Stir in peach, coating with flour mixture. In small sauce pan, warm the milk over low heat. When milk is warm, but not hot or simmering, remove from heat and whisk in honey. This will dissolve the honey, so that it does not become a sticky, clumpy mess. Also, heating the milk causes the milk sugars to caramelize slightly, making the milk sweeter. Learned that at Bello Mundo. Set the milk/honey mixture aside to cool a bit. Remember that simple mixture for the next time you want a warm, yummy beverage. While the honey milk cools, whisk together egg, olive oil, and vanilla extract. Slowly whisk in honey milk. Add to dry ingredients and stir until just moistened. There's a lot of peach pieces, huh? You'll be be glad of them: I promise. Fill prepared muffin tin (up to the top because of all the peach pieces) and bake for fifteen minutes. Let cool in tin five minutes before transferring to cooling rack. These are good warm or at room temperature.
