Peach Muffins (with a Pecan Streusel Topping!)

Moist and delicious peach muffins with a brown sugar pecan streusel. These muffins are easy to whip up in 30 minutes or less! You can bake them now or freeze for later.

In the summertime, to me there is nothing better than finding all sorts of ways to bake with the bountiful produce that seems to be just bursting at the seams everywhere.

Like peaches. Oh my word. Is there anything better than baking with fresh summer peaches?! I see you shaking your head over there.

So throw some fresh peaches into a muffin, add some brown sugar, and pecans and you got one happy girl.

What do you need to make peach muffins?

• Pecans – I used pecans for the topping but as I said the original recipe I adapted this from used walnuts. I think almonds would work great too. If you have a nut allergy then by all means just omit them!
• All purpose flour – When making muffins, I like to keep it simple and use all purpose flour. It has that mid range protein content perfect for muffins. You can read all about the different types of flour here if you really want to nerd out. Nothing wrong with that. 
• Light brown sugar – Brown sugar in the topping gives the topping such great flavor. You can always make your own if you need to in a pinch. 
• Cinnamon – I kept the spice simple here. All I think these muffins needed was a bit of cinnamon to complement the beauty of the peaches. 
• Unsalted butter – I’ve said this before but I really suggest you use unsalted butter when baking. Not all brands use the same amount of salt in their butter, so brands can vary. I like to use unsalted butter so I can control the amount of salt. We are going to use butter in the topping and the batter. If you are having to use salted butter, then you might want to reduce or eliminate the salt in the batter. 
• White granulated sugar – I use this in the muffin batter. This will get treated as a dry ingredient and add to the flour mixture. 
• Baking powder and baking soda– these are the leavening agents which help to make sure your muffins rise properly. They are NOT interchangeable. You want to make sure they are fresh- to test baking powder test a teaspoon in a little bit of hot water, to test baking soda test a teaspoon of it some acid (vinegar or lemon juice). If they bubble, they are good to go! 
• Eggs – I always use large eggs when baking. And I also make sure they are at room temperature so they blend well and do not seize up my melted butter. To get your eggs to room temperature quickly, place them in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes before using. 
• Sour cream – this is the key ingredient to keep theese muffins super moist. You could also try subbing out the sourcream and using greek yogurt instead. I recommend that you use full fat sour cream. Fat adds flavor and moisture and improves the texture.
• Vanilla extract – Nothing is better than some vanilla extract for flavor. I recommend always using pure vanilla extract!
• Peaches – Aww yes the peaches. Wouldn’t be a peach muffin without! This recipe takes about 3 whole peaches. Make sure they are ripe so it’s easier to peel and chop. Plus they will have the best flavor of course. 

How to make these peach muffins – step by step photos

Step 1- Make the pecan streusel topping

To make the topping you want combine the pecans, flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Then stir in the melted butter and combine so it’s a crumbly streusel topping. 

Make ahead tip: You can make this a few days in advance! Just place in a zip-loc bag and pop in the fridge. You can also freeze this streusel topping for 2-3 months. 

Step 2: Combine the dry ingredients

You want to sift the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Sifting is a pain (I know, I get it) but it does help to aerate the ingredients, properly mix the leavening agents evenly, and create a light and fluffy muffin. 

Step 3: Combine the wet ingredients

In another bowl, you want to combine the wet ingredients – sour cream, vanilla, melted butter, eggs. And then fold in your diced peaches. 

Step 4: Combining the wet and dry ingredients

Now that you have your wet and dry ingredients it’s time to combine them. But when making muffins, this is where things can go wrong. When making muffins you want to add the wet to the dry so the dry is on the bottom. And the next is mixing. And then do NOT overmix!

You can see below. That batter is by no means smooth. And it shouldn’t be! I want lumpy batter that doesn’t look so great right now. 

BAKING 101:  Too much mixing = gluten forming = a tough textured muffin. Gluten is the protein in wheat that forms when the flour becomes hydrated and helps build structure. We need some structure, but the more we mix the more gluten that forms. And too much mixing will create a tough, chewy muffin. You want to stir just until the dry ingredients have disappeared. You should still see lumps. Lumps are our friend!

For more on how to make muffins properly, read my post ultimate guide on how to make muffins.

Step 5: Scoop and bake

Now that our batter is ready, you want to scoop the batter into your prepared pans. I always use liners – I think this make them easy to transport and give out to friends (aka not keep them all in the house to myself!) I use a large scoop for my muffins and I fill them to the top. 

We are not making cupcakes which can sink if you fill them too much. These muffins will bake up beautifully if you scoop to the top. Then sprinkle on the streusel (about 1-2 tablespoons per muffin). And then bake these muffins.

HEATHER’S BAKING TIP: To test for doneness: I insert a toothpick and look for moist crumbs clinging to it. 

Step 6: Glaze Away!

Now the glaze is optional. But I think it’s what put these muffins over the edge for me. The glaze is simple – powdered sugar, milk and vanilla. And then you can adjust to the consistency you want from the base recipe I’ve given you. 

More Recipe Tips

• Measure your flour correctly – Measuring your flour wrong is one reason why homemade muffins don’t come out fluffy and moist like they do as a bakery. The best way is to use a scale and measure by weight. I still love to measure by volume, as I am sure most American home bakers do. So if you do use your measuring cups, then be sure to first fluff up the flour. Then scoop with a spoon into the cup and then level off with a flat edge. For more on how and why to measure your flour you can read this post. 
• Prepare your pans first. You want to make sure to get those ready before you start measuring. I like to use liners for my muffins and then also spray the top of the pans with non-stick cooking spray. You don’t have to use liners, but then make sure the wells and the top of the tin are sprayed well. But you don’t want your batter sitting around while you get your pans ready, so do this first. 
• Cool on a cooling rack. Once you have taken your muffins out of the oven you want to move them from a tin to a cooling rack. If you leave the muffins in the tin, then the heat from the tin will cause them to continue to bake possibly causing them to overbake. 

Recipe FAQ’s

More Recipes To Try

• Peach Cake
• Peach Raspberry Tart
• Raspberry Cream Cheese Muffins
• Strawberry Streusel Muffins

Peach Muffins

Perfect peach muffins with brown sugar pecan streusel topping

5 from 15 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Servings: 16 muffins

Calories: 329kcal

Author: Heather Perine

Ingredients

For the streusel topping:

• ▢ 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped pecans
• ▢ 1/3 cup (40 g) all-purpose flour
• ▢ 1/3 cup (71 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ 3 tablespoons (42 g) unsalted butter melted

For the muffins:

• ▢ 2 cups (240 g) all purpose flour
• ▢ 1 cup (197 g) granulated white sugar
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• ▢ 3 large eggs room temperature
• ▢ 3 tablespoons (42 g) unsalted butter melted
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups (340 g) sour cream
• ▢ 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups peaches (about 3 peaches) peeled, pitted, and diced

For the vanilla glaze

• ▢ 1 cup (113 g) powdered (confectioners) sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon milk (or heavy cream, or water)
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

For the streusel topping

• In a small bowl, combine the pecans, flour, brown sugar and cinnamon.
• Stir in the butter, and mix until well blended.

For the muffins:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line 12 large muffin cups with paper liners, and spray the top of the pan lightly with nonstick spray.
• In a medium bowl, sift together the dry ingredients, from flour to salt, and set aside.
• In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, butter, sour cream, and vanilla. Fold in the peaches.
• Add the egg mixture to the dry mixture. Stir until just moist and blended. Do not overmix.
•  Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan with a large ice cream scoop (1/3-cup scoop). 
• Sprinkle with the Brown Sugar-Walnut Streusel Topping, and lightly press the topping into the muffin batter
• Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until the tops of the muffins spring back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes clean. Remove from the oven, and cool for 5 minutes. Turn the muffins out of the pan, and serve immediately.

For the glaze

• In a small bowl, combine the glaze ingredients and whisk until smooth. You can adjust the consistency by adding more or less milk, and more or less powdered sugar. Drizzle over the muffins once cooled.

Notes

• Storage: Wrap or keep cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
• Freezing: Freeze cooled muffins in a plastic bag (or wrap individually then place in a bag for maximum freshness) for up to 3 months. I thaw mine at room temperature, unwrapped, and they thaw quickly. You can also freeze muffins unbaked. Scoop batter into liners in your muffin tin and place the whole tin in the freezer. Once frozen solid, I transfer the frozen muffins to a plastic bag and freeze for 3 months. Once ready to bake I place back into the muffin tins and bake as normal (no need to thaw). You will just need to add on a few minutes of baking time.
• Peaches: I peeled my peaches first. I haven’t tested with unpeeled peaches but I think they would work just fine. And I used fresh peaches and haven’t tried with frozen. Frozen may release too much moisture (and you may need add on more baking time). Do not thaw if using frozen. 
• Sour cream: I prefer and used full-fat sour cream for richness. Yogurt or creme fraiche would also work.

Nutrition

Calories: 329kcal | Carbohydrates: 42g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 62mg | Sodium: 142mg | Potassium: 161mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 375IU | Vitamin C: 1.2mg | Calcium: 59mg | Iron: 1.4mg

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