Peach Mixed Grain Muffins

The honest to God truth is I did my damnedest to break this recipe. And I failed.

I found the recipe this afternoon from a New York Times article full of summer fruit recipes.  The recipe was for Mixed Grain Blueberry muffins and I was excited about it.  It would use the buttermilk I still have floating around in my refrigerator, plus give me an excuse to break into the whole wheat flour I bought the other day.  And I love blueberries and it's summer and they are beautiful.  And that was the only ingredient I had to buy.  It was supposed to be soothe sailing.

Supposed to be.  After work, I made what I wanted to be a lightning quick stop at the grocery store for blueberries.  It lasted a little bit longer when I realized that the tiny, more gray than blue, spheres they were calling blueberries cost $5.  Is blueberry season over already??  I almost called it quits right there, but wander around the produce section awhile debating the $5 purchase.  I wandered past the peaches on sell for 99 cents a pound several times before thinking "what the heck, why not".  $1.36 later and I was back in my car heading home.  Once home, after realizing I forgot my phone charger at work, but that's another story, I also realized that the recipe called for milk.  I don't actually keep milk stocked in my fridge.  I bummed around my living room for awhile before deciding to use all buttermilk in the recipe.  I got the oats soaking in the buttermilk and started assembling the other wet ingredients.  At which point I realized, half of the buttermilk was supposed to be with those wet ingredients.  So I did my best to drain some from the oats into it, as well as splashed a bit extra in.  The last effort to ruin my muffins was when I sifted about half of the dry ingredients onto my cutting board rather than into the bowl in an attempt to save on dishes.  Yet...

Yet, they turned out.  Somehow, and I haven't quite figured out how yet.  And they're tasty.  In that whole wheat, mixed grain, bran muffin-healthy kind of way.  It still kind of amazes me.  But it also makes me really happy, I love recipes you can't break.  Cause, really, if it didn't break after that, what could break it?  Although there are many things I would do different the next time around, on the top of that list is a heaping teaspoon or two of cinnamon and cut the peaches a bit smaller.  To break up that good bran muffin motif it has going on.  I'm so excited for breakfast tomorrow.

Peach Mixed Grain Muffins

Adapted from NYT September 8, 2009 Recipe

Note:  Here is the messed up, yet still delicious recipe that mine ended up being.  I adjusted the baking soda/baking powder quantities to make up for the double buttermilk.  Definitely check out the actual recipe, but obviously don't feel too restricted by it!

2/3 c. rolled oats
1 c. buttermilk, divided
1/4 c. cornmeal
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
1/4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
Rounded 1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large or extra-large eggs
1/4 c. mild honey, like clover
1/4 c. canola oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 medium sized, ripe peaches (about 1 1/2 cups, heaping), cut into small bite sized pieces

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with a rack in the middle. Oil 12 muffin cups. Combine the oats and 1/2 cup buttermilk in a bowl, and let sit for 15 minutes, until the oats have softened.

2. Sift together the cornmeal, whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

3. In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs, honey, 1/2 cup buttermilk, canola oil and vanilla. Quickly whisk in the flour, then fold in the oats and peaches. Combine well.

4. Spoon into muffin cups, filling each two-thirds full. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then remove and cool on a rack.

Advance preparation: These will be good for a couple of days, and they freeze well. Thaw overnight or in the microwave.