These peach streusel muffins are soft, moist, and bursting with chunks of juicy peaches in every bite. These muffins start with my trusted base recipe for tender, bakery-style muffins and get a flavor boost from cooking the peaches with butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. The sweet, crumbly streusel on top adds texture and flavor and makes these muffins better than anything you'll find at your local bakery.
My Inspiration for This Recipe
I’ve recently locked in on a muffin base that produces tender and moist muffins. Check out my banana muffins and lemon blueberry muffins for more examples of amazing muffins. Since summer means fresh peaches, and I love baking with peaches and I’ll put streusel on just about anything, making these peach streusel muffins was a no-brainer.
In my first tests, I added chopped peaches to the batter, but unless your peaches are perfectly ripe and sweet, the flavor can be a little underwhelming. That’s when I decided to try cooking the peaches first.
Why I Cook the Peaches First
Cooking the peaches in butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon before adding them to the muffin batter makes all the difference in flavor and texture. This simple step:
- Concentrates flavor by caramelizing the natural sugars in the peaches.
- Softens the fruit so the texture of the peaches is consistent throughout the muffin.
- Reduces excess moisture, which prevents the muffins from becoming gummy when they're baked.
Cooking the peaches over high heat caramelizes them without making them mushy, and the syrup left behind (butter, sugar, cinnamon) goes straight into the batter for even more flavor.
Tips for Successfully Making the Muffins
- Cook the peaches on high heat so the liquid evaporates quickly and the fruit caramelizes without turning mushy.
- Weigh Your Ingredients: This is the best tip I can give you for the best muffins: weigh your flour. Using too much flour will result in dry muffins, while using too little will result in sunken muffins. I also like to weigh the sour cream because it’s easier than using a measuring cup.
- Don't overmix the batter. When you combine the wet and dry ingredients, stir just until you no longer see streaks of flour. Overmixing develops the gluten in the flour, which can make the muffins tough and chewy instead of soft and tender.
- Fill muffin cups full (about 90 g each) for tall muffins with a beautiful domed top.
Key Ingredients for These Peach Muffins
- Fresh Peaches: I love using fresh peaches for these muffins because the peel adds flavor to the peaches. Look for somewhat firm peaches, so they don't turn mushy when cooking. Ideally, use freestone peaches (also known as cling-free) because the flesh separates easily from the pit, making it easier to chop the peaches.
- Ground Ginger: I love the peppery bit that ginger adds to the muffins. The heat plays well with the other spices and the sweetness of the muffins. The taste is subtle, I don't want it to overwhelm the other flavors, but it's there and a pleasant taste that hits the back of your mouth.
- Sour Cream: I absolutely love using sour cream in my muffins. The moisture keeps my muffins tender for days, and that slight tang perfectly balances the sweetness. It creates a thick batter that bakes up into those gorgeous domed tops. The natural acidity also works with the baking powder to create extra lift and a lighter crumb, while tenderizing the gluten for that perfect bakery-quality texture. It's honestly one of my favorite baking ingredients because it delivers moisture and flavor.
Full ingredients, measurements, and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
How to Make Homemade Peach Muffins
Step 1: Make the brown sugar crumble and place it in the refrigerator.
Step 2: Cut the fresh peaches into 1-inch chunks.
Step 3: Cook the peaches in brown sugar and butter until tender, but still a little firm.
Step 4: Cool and strain the peaches before adding them to the batter.
Step 5: Whisk together the sugar and the eggs.
Step 6: Whisk in the cooled melted butter.
Step 7: Whisk in the reserved peach syrup and the vanilla extract.
Step 8: Add the sour cream and let the batter sit for 5 minutes.
Step 9: Fold in the flour in 2 batches with a silicone spatula.
Step 10: Let the rest for 10 minutes. It allows the flour to hydrate.
Step 11: Fold in the peaches until they're well distributed.
Step 12: Divide the batter between the muffin cups. Top each muffin with a few of the peaches and the come of the crumble.
Step 13: Bake the peaches until they are risen and golden brown.
Step 14: Cool the muffins for 5 minutes in the muffin tin, then remove the muffins and place them on a wire rack.
Serving the Muffins
The muffins are best when eaten warm. They're delicious plain, but if you want a little extra, try them with my whipped honey butter, which is so good.
Did you make these yummy peach muffins? If so, please leave a rating and a comment below. I would love to hear from you.
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Moist Peach Streusel Muffins with Fresh Peaches
Ingredients
Brown Sugar Crumble
- 1 cup (125 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/3 cup (67 grams) light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter melted
Cooked Peaches
- 300 grams fresh peaches cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons (28 grams) unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) packed light brown sugar
- 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Peach Muffins
- 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter melted and cooled
- 2 cups (250 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
- 2 large (100 grams) eggs room temperature
- 3/4 cup (180 grams) full-fat sour cream room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Make the Brown Sugar Crumble
- Melt the butter over low heat and as soon as it’s almost completely melted take it off the heat. Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt in a small bowl.
- Add the melted butter to the dry ingredients and use a fork to work the butter into the dry ingredients until there are no bits of white flour left, and the streusel forms clumps.
- Place it in the refrigerator while you cook the peaches and make the muffin batter.
Make the Peach Filling
- Wash the peaches and cut them into 1-inch chunks. You should have 300 grams of peaches.
- Place a small bowl with a strainer next to the stove.
- Heat a skillet over high heat and add the butter. As soon as it is melted and bubbly, add the chopped peaches and the brown sugar. Stir the ingredients together and reduce the heat to medium high. Cook the peaches undisturbed for about 3-4 minutes. Stir the peaches turning some over. You should start to see some caramelization on the peaches and you should see a reduction in the liquid.
- Cook the peaches for another 2 minutes. Add the ground cinnamon, cook for another 30 seconds and scrape the peaches into the strainer. Let the peaches cool for about 30 minutes and the peach syrup drain into the bowl. Reserve the syrup to be added to the muffin batter later.
Preheat the Oven
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Add 12 paper liners to a 12-cup muffin pan.
Make the Muffin Batter
- Melt the butter over medium low heat and cool until it is barely warm, about 90°F.
- Place the flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt in a bowl and whisk for 30 seconds to combine.
- Crack the eggs into a large bowl, add the sugar and whisk until the mixture is lighter in color and doesn’t feel as stiff, about 30 seconds.
- Whisk in the cool melted butter. Next whisk in the reserved peachy syrup and vanilla extract and then the sour cream. Let the batter sit for about 5 minutes.
- Add 1/2 of the dry ingredients to the batter and fold it with a silicone spatula until incorporated. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix on low speed until combined. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure all the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes.
- Add 3/4 of the cooked peaches. Reserve the remainder to go on top of the muffin batter.
Bake the Muffins
- Divide the batter even between the muffin cups (about 90 grams per muffin tin). The muffin cups should be full. Take the remaining peaches and add about 3 or 4 pieces to the top of the batter. Next add about a generous tablespoon of streusel to each muffin.
- Bake the muffins at 425°F for 5 minutes and then without opening the oven door reduce the temperature to 350°F. Bake the muffins for another 10-15 minutes until the internal temperature registers at about 203°F using an instant-read thermometer.
- Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes, then move the muffins to a wire cooling rack.
Store the Muffins
- The muffins can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for 1 day and in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To store the muffins in the refrigerator wrap each one in plastic wrap to keep them from drying out.
- To freeze the muffins wrap each muffin in plastic wrap. Store the muffins in a freezer-safe bag or container. Label and date the bag and freeze for up to 2 months.
- To eat the muffins, thaw them overnight in the refrigerator or at room temperature for about an hour. Warm the muffins in the microwave or in the oven for 5 minutes at 350°F.
Denise says
Excellent! My first time baking a “bakes by BROWN SUGAR” recipe! I’m in a vacation rental so I had to “punt” on some things such as no scale to weigh ingredients. I looked up cups equivalent to the gram weight and used that as a reference. I also lessened the amount of cinnamon in the cooked peaches by 1/2 tsp (personal preference ). Otherwise, followed the recipe exactly. It was easy with all the steps spelled out. The muffins smelled incredible as they baked. I’ve never used an insta-read thermometer as a baking tool-ingenious! Spot on, BTW. The muffins baked perfectly.
Cheryl Norris says
Hi Denise
Thank you for making this recipe and leaving this wonderful review. I'm so glad you enjoyed them. The instant-read thermometer is one of my favorite kitchen tools, so I'm glad you have discovered.I use it for everything.