These bakery-style peach muffins have a tender, coffee cake-like crumb, juicy peach chunks in every bite, and a buttery streusel topping. The secret to getting all that peach flavor without making the muffins soggy? A swirl of quick homemade peach jam that concentrates the fruit flavor instead of waterlogging the batter.
Before You Start Cooking
- Peaches: Use fruit that’s ripe and fragrant but still firm, with just a little give. Overripe, very juicy peaches will make the batter (and the finished muffins) moister than you want, even with the jam swirl doing its job.
- Baking Pan: You’ll need a standard 12-cup muffin tin. I prefer not to use paper liners for these muffins. Instead, I grease the wells with baking spray for easy release.
- Adapted technique: This recipe is adapted from Cook’s Illustrated’s “Best Blueberry Muffins” (May/June 2009 issue) and its core technique of cooking down a portion of the fruit into a concentrated swirl rather than using it all as chunks. I’ve applied that method to peaches instead of blueberries, adding a streusel topping and a touch of almond extract for depth.
How to Make Peach Muffins with Streusel Topping
Step 1: Make the Peach Jam Swirl
Start with the peaches, since the cooked jam-like mixture needs time to cool before it goes into the batter.
Peel and cut your peaches into a ½-inch dice — you’ll need 2 cups total. Half of the diced peaches will go into the jam; set the rest aside to fold into the batter later.
Tip: To peel peaches easily, score an X into the skin at the blossom end (the bottom of the peach, opposite the stem), then drop them into boiling water for about 30 seconds.
Move the peaches to a bowl filled with ice water for a minute or two (I use a spider strainer to lift them from the water). Pulling from the “X” you scored, the skins should slip off easily.
Add half of the diced peaches to a small saucepan with a touch of granulated sugar. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, mashing the peaches with the back of a wooden spoon as they cook.
As the peaches release their juices and reduce, you’ll end up with about ¼ cup of a smooth, jammy mixture after 5 to 6 minutes. This concentrated swirl is what gives the muffins peach flavor without adding excess liquid to the batter.
Take the pan off the heat and let the mixture cool completely to room temperature before using.
Step 2: Make the Streusel Topping
The buttery crumb topping is one of the best parts of these peach muffins. To make it, combine flour, brown sugar (light or dark, your choice), granulated sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
Cut the cold unsalted butter into pieces. Then, work it into the flour and sugar mixture with a pastry blender, two knives, or your fingertips. You’re looking for it to have the texture of wet sand with small crumbs that hold together when pressed.
Make sure the butter is well incorporated. If not, the topping will be dry and floury rather than forming a proper crumble. At the same time, don’t overwork it into a paste; you want crumbs, not a solid mass.
Cover and refrigerate the streusel while you prepare the muffin batter.
Step 3: Mix the Peach Muffin Batter
This is a two-bowl batter. In a large bowl (big enough to hold the entire batter later), whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate bowl, whisk the granulated sugar and eggs together until thick, glossy, and pale yellow. Whisk in cooled melted butter and vegetable oil — butter gives the batter a rich flavor, and oil keeps the crumb moist when baked.
Then, fold in the buttermilk and extracts. Either reduced-fat or whole cultured buttermilk works here, depending on what’s available at your grocery store.
I most often use whole buttermilk for the softest, most tender crumb. Low-fat buttermilk will give you a slightly lighter texture.
For the flavor extracts, I love the combination of vanilla and almond with peaches. Vanilla adds warmth, while almond brings a nutty note that complements the fruit.
Fold the remaining diced peaches into the dry ingredients, along with the wet ingredients, mixing just until everything is combined.
Don’t overmix — a few dry streaks of flour are fine to leave in the bowl. Overmixing develops the gluten in the flour, which makes muffins dense and tough rather than tender.
Step 4: Portion and Bake
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each almost to the top — this is what gives you tall, bakery-style muffins.
Add about a teaspoon of the cooled peach jam into the center of each muffin and gently swirl it in with a toothpick. Top each muffin with a few tablespoons of streusel.
Bake the muffins in a preheated 425°F oven for 17 to 19 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. The high oven temperature helps the muffins rise quickly and get that domed bakery-style top.
Depending on the layout of your muffin pan, the tops might run into each other a little as they crown. If this happens, gently separate the tops with a knife when the muffins come out of the oven.
Let the muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes. To remove them from the pan, I like to slide two forks underneath each crown to gently lift the muffins onto a wire rack.
Serving and Storing Peach Muffins
These muffins are best served warm, when the streusel topping is still a little crisp, and the peach swirl is soft and jammy. They’re delicious as is, but for a pretty finish on a summer brunch spread, you can dust the tops with powdered sugar or even add a drizzle of powdered sugar glaze.
Storage Tips
Store cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can extend this to 5 days by refrigerating them. Since these muffins contain fresh fruit, they won’t keep quite as long at room temperature as plain muffins would.
The texture of these Peach Muffins is best on Day 1, but splitting the fresh fruit between chunks and jam helps keep these muffins from turning soggy as they sit. To refresh their texture, pop a muffin in the microwave for a few seconds to gently rewarm.
To freeze, wrap cooled muffins individually in plastic wrap, then place in a zip-top freezer bag for up to 3 months. After freezing and defrosting, warm the muffins in a 300°F oven for about 10 minutes to crisp the streusel topping again.
More Fresh Peach Recipes
Peach Muffins with Streusel Topping
Ingredients
Jam and Muffins
- 2 cups peeled and diced fresh ripe peaches ,½-inch dice, quantity divided (see Note 1)
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar , plus 1 teaspoon additional for jam
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour (312.5 grams, King Arthur)
- 2½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 2 large eggs
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted and cooled
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup buttermilk (whole or reduced-fat)
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
Streusel topping
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour (93.75 grams, King Arthur)
- ¼ cup light or dark brown sugar , firmly-packed
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter , cut into ¼-inch pieces
Instructions
Make the Peach Jam
- Add 1 cup of the diced peaches and 1 teaspoon granulated sugar to a small saucepan.
- Simmer over medium heat, mashing the peaches with the back of a wooden spoon as they cook, until reduced to about ¼ cup and relatively smooth, 5 to 6 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely to room temperature.
Make the Streusel Topping
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon.
- Cut the cold butter into the flour mixture with a pastry blender, two knives, or your fingertips until it resembles damp sand, with small crumbs that hold together when pressed. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Make the Muffins
- Preheat the oven to 425°F with the rack in the middle position. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin pan with baking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and the eggs until thick, pale, and glossy. Whisk in the cooled, melted butter and oil, then the buttermilk and extracts (vanilla and almond).
- Gently fold the remaining 1 cup of diced peaches and the wet ingredients into the flour mixture, mixing just until combined. For a tender crumb, don't over-mix; a few dry streaks of flour are ok.
- Divide the batter among the muffin cups, filling each almost to the top for large, bakery-style muffins. Spoon 1 teaspoon of the cooled peach preserves into the center of each and swirl gently with a toothpick. Top each with a few tablespoons of streusel (see Note 2).
- Bake for 17 to 19 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then use two forks to gently lift the muffins onto a wire rack until ready to serve (see Note 3).
- These muffins are best enjoyed slightly warm, and their texture is best the day they're baked. Once cooled, they can be wrapped and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days, in the refrigerator for 5 days, or frozen for up to 3 months. Gently rewarm before serving.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Please note that our recipes have been developed using the US Customary measurement system and have not been tested for high altitude/elevation cooking and baking.
You may also like:
Editor’s Note: This recipe was originally published on Striped Spatula in August, 2015. We have since updated the post with new photos and expanded copy to best serve our readers.
Great recipe! Just made these this morning with fresh peaches – the peach preserves technique is a really good idea. Might have to make these again tomorrow. Thanks!
I just made the Peach Muffins and they were delicious. The recipe was clear and simple to follow thus guaranteeing success. I was able to bake the muffins while cooking dinner so that they were a nice warm dessert. I will definitely save this to my recipe file.
Thanks so much for commenting, Leslie! I’m so glad the recipe worked well and that you enjoyed the muffins. Great idea to serve them warm for dessert!