Peach Spice Muffins

I put by a lot of fruit every summer.  Seeing all those rows of beautiful jars lined up in my pantry gives me a tremendous feeling of accomplishment, and a sense of security. In the wintertime, opening those pantry doors is an almost daily affair.  We rely heavily on those summer fruits in the cold months, when produce selection is limited and prices are high.

There are times when you just don’t want to run to the grocery store in search of ingredients and, at our house, there are days when you just can’t afford to.  This muffin recipe is perfect for those days:  It’s based upon canned fruit and other pantry ingredients, it’s easy and inexpensive to make, it tastes great, and—when paired with a creamy cheese like Brie—it makes an excellent breakfast.

Winter mornings are so much more pleasant when you can start your day with something warm from the oven!

To make Peach Spice Muffins, you’ll need:

• 1 quart of canned fruit (peaches, pears, or crushed pineapple all work well in this recipe)
• 2 eggs
• 1-3/4 cup reserved fruit juice (if you don't have enough, top it up with water or milk)
• 1 cup of sugar
• 1/2 cup of canola or other neutral flavoured vegetable oil
• 4 cups all purpose flour
• 5 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger

Drain the liquid from the canned fruit and reserve it.  Pulse the drained fruit in a food processor.  You don’t want a puree.  There should be distinct pieces of fruit in your finished muffin.

Measure out 1-1/2 cups of the chopped fruit into a large bowl.  Reserve any leftovers for another use.  (I stir them into yogurt or cottage cheese.)  Beat the eggs and add them to the fruit, together with the reserved juice, the sugar, and the oil.  Mix well.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger.

Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir until just combined.

Spoon the muffins into buttered muffin pans.  You'll probably have about 18 muffins.

Bake the muffins at 350˚F for about 25 minutes, until the tops of the muffins spring back when lightly touched. 

Serve the muffins warm or cold.  Allow them to cool completely before storing them in an airtight container.  They freeze well.
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