This post should have been full of gorgeous pictures of jewel colored berries, juicy golden peaches, and puffy muffin goodness. Alas, there are actually only 2. A few things conspired against me.
1. It's time to confess that I hate my kitchen, which sucks because I really love to cook! But I rent, and I'm moving, so this all will change soon. But for the time being I'm working with fluorescent lighting, which is terrible, and there's only one window that faces a 6 foot high concrete wall (ah, the joys of city living), and I really hate it. But since I know I'm moving I decided that I didn't have to try and fake it this time, or settle for crappy pictures, because in a little over a week's time I'll have a completely gorgeous light-filled kitchen to take pictures in!
2. I wanted to use up the fresh fruit I had picked over Labor Day weekend, but had a million other things to do on Saturday morning, so, I didn't have time to stop during each step of the process and snap a photo. Also, see point #1.
3. At the very least, I had planned on taking pictures of the final muffins. But I couldn't. Because they were all gone before Saturday afternoon!!
Which leads me to these muffins. Man, are they good!! I riffed on a recipe from Vegan Brunch, wherein it says that frozen berries are okay, but if you can still get your hands on fresh blackberries and raspberries I'm telling you it's the only way to make these muffins. I threw in some peaches because I had them and because they are delicious baked in stuff -- in this particular recipe they add a nice balance to the tartness of the blackberries.
Delicious hot, they are even better if they're let to sit for a while. I had one for breakfast this morning (okay, so I lied about them being all gone, there were 3 left at the end of the day) and it was amazing. The flavors of the berries mellow and become more distinct at the same time, so in one bite you can tell whether you're eating a raspberry or a blackberry. I'm going to stop talking about them now, and just give you the recipe so that you can see for yourself!
Chunky Peach Berry Muffins
Adapted from Vegan Brunch
Ingredients
½ c. blackberries, halved
½ c. raspberries, halved
½ c. peaches, chopped
2 c. flour
1 TBSP baking powder
½ -
¾ c. sugar (I did something in between, so the addition of peaches wouldn't be too sweet)
¼ tsp salt
½ c. almond milk
½ c. soy yogurt
½ c. vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix together flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in medium sized bowl. Make a well and add the almond milk, yogurt, oil, vanilla extract, mixing until all dry ingredients are incorporated. Gently fold in the fruit, but don't be too shy -- a streaky batter is pretty and flavorful!
Bake for 26-28 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. If you can, save a couple muffins for the morning after and I promise you won't be disappointed! But I completely understand if you can't wait.
