Spicy aromas greet as Peach Breakfast Dish bakes

I’m not sure which was the better part of this dish—actually consuming it on Father’s Day morning or the wonderful aroma that greeted us after it had baked in the slow-cooker overnight. Spicy waves permeated every corner of the house as we woke and were reminded of what was for breakfast.

Hubby’s holiday breakfast had to be a peach one, of course, since we’re harvesting peaches from our third of six trees (three more to go) in the back yard. Few cooking decisions are made these days that don’t involve using peaches in some way.

Fortunately great peach recipes are everywhere. An Internet search turned up this one for Slow-Cooker Peach Breakfast from mnn.com. As the blogger who wrote about it stated, the dish made a great breakfast but just as easily could be a dessert. We crowned it with sugar-free whipped topping. It lasted us throughout most of the week, as it made ample.

Slow-Cooker Peach Breakfast

2/3 cup sugar (or sugar substitute)

1 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup buttermilk baking mix (I used heart-healthy Bisquick lowfat mix)

3/4 cup whole wheat buttermilk pancake mix (the recipe originator used Hodgson Mills brand)

4 eggs (or 1 cup egg substitute)

4 teaspoons vanilla

4 teaspoons melted butter

12-ounce can evaporated milk (I used fat-free)

8-10 peaches, peeled, pitted, and sliced

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Combine sugars and baking mixes. Add eggs and vanilla. Mix well. Add butter and milk. Mix well. Add peaches and cinnamon. Mix well. Pour into greased 6-quart slow cooker. Cover. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve warm. (Ours made 10-12 servings.)

A reward for enduring an annual physical—Fresh Peach Muffins

How glad I am that our peach supply didn’t poop out before we had enough of those reddish-golden orbs to give themselves up for this recipe! (No chance of that, as I mentioned two days ago. We still have three peach trees with fruit waiting to ripen.)

But what is produced here just may be the most decadent breakfast muffin ever—Fresh Peach Muffins with a Pecan-Crumb Topping. Inside are chunky peachy morsels. Outside on the top is a deep layer of pecan-dotted crumbs that you wade into for quite some time, actually, before you bite into the muffin’s interior.

The recipe, procured online from www.footnetwork.com, is an Emeril specialty. Need I say more? Into my search engine I entered the words “peach breakfast muffins”; the name of famous chef Emeril Lagasse appeared alongside these delights. Did I look any further? Of course not. If Emeril has furnished it, it must be divine. Plus it makes oodles—2 dozen muffins, enough left over to freeze some for my July 4 weekend dining.

Yesterday was my Hubby’s “Welcome to Medicare” physical exam. He had to fast, of course, so blood work could be done. As he emerged ravenous after all that hoopla at the doctor’s office, I had held out these Fresh Peach Muffins as his reward. As he dined on all that decadence, he certainly felt rewarded!

Fresh Peach Muffins with Pecan-Crumb Topping

2 cups finely chopped fresh peaches

1 1/4 cups sugar, divided (I use sugar substitute)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature

2 eggs (1/2 cup egg substitute)

1 1/2 cups milk (I use skim)

4 cups all-purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt (or salt substitute)

1/4 cup brown sugar (or 1/8 cup brown-sugar substitute)

1/4 cup ground pecans

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 tablespoons cold butter

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease 24 muffin cups. Place the peaches in a bowl and cover them with 1/2 cup of the sugar. Mix thoroughly. Allow the peaches to sit for 1 hour. Using an electric mixer cream the butter and remaining 3/4 cup of sugar until smooth and pale in color—about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. In a mixing bowl combine 3 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Remove the bowl from the mixer; alternately fold in the milk and flour mixture. Be careful not to over mix. Fold in the peaches. Spoon 1/4 cup filling into each prepared muffin cup. In a small bowl combine the remaining flour, brown sugar, pecans, and cinnamon. Mix well. Add the butter. Using your hands mix until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs (or use a pastry cutter). Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the crumb mixture over each muffin cup. If you have some left over (I did), evenly disperse it among the muffin tops. Bake muffins for about 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Makes 24 muffins.