Tuesday 6 September 2016

Gluten Free Peaches & Cream Muffins



WOW OMG HEY HI WHATS UP!?



SOOO things have been not so peachy keen jelly bean.


Well. I suppose that is a bit hyperbolic. Things indeed have been peachy as it is peach season (albeit the tail end which is violently upsetting because summer is my favourite OR MY NAME ISN'T SUMMER!!!!!).


This summer has been a bit tumultuous. Some health problems really flared and I think my mental health really took an impact when I made a huge decision to quit my job.


Yep. I quit my salary job, within days of that decision had  an interview at my favourite bakery in town and ba-ding-ba-da-boom I start next week.


While I look back at being an M.A and law school hopeful I can't help but become overcome with anxiety. I think a lot of people look at this jump I am making and don't fully understand how hard it has been and will be. Some people are supportive and understandably a lot of people aren't and that's okay.

Leaving something stable and being well-educated lends itself to people having certain expectations. A lot of this past week has been separating what OTHER people want me to VS what I want to do.


To be honest I think staying at my day job was out of fear of what people would think of me if I quit. Quitting to work in a bakery to get experience? Working on expanding my small business and growing my client base? INSTEAD OF LAW SCHOOL OR A PhD?!!!!!








The reality is. I almost died. For reasons I won't get into right now but I struggled with my health for a very long time. Mentally -- Grad school really broke my spirit and it took me a long time to function as a normal person after that. Going out or being social or even really just being 'me' was never an option. Having a blog where I can somewhat be vocal (I know I am not Sallys Baking Addiction with millions of views but that's okay) has been huge. And in the end my business and blog are what allowed me to get my bakery job because it became an easily accessible portfolio that really portrayed who I am,


Why is this important? If I die tomorrow I don't want to live a life without passion -- including at least ATTEMPTING to pursue a career in a field that fills me with joy. Has it been hard? Hell yeah. Financially especially as I try and escape my student loans. But I am living and breathing and that really should be all that matters. Society complicates that for us but our human essence is driven biologically by the desire to survive so in the most basic sense I should be thrilled. 




 


Why am I telling you this amidst photos of beautiful muffins??!






Because I hope it gives you the courage you need to take a risk, however small, in finding your happiness. I want you to know that finding your happiness is a long road.


It may involve finding your misery first. Maybe a lot of misery and heart ache and struggle. But if you can break free from whatever it is that's holding you back you will hit the bed every day feeling like you are truly moving towards something.





It may be starting a blog or finally becoming a certified personal trainer. Or maybe taking some certificate courses at a local college.


At the end of the day if you are living for someone else it's not them that gets impacted, it's you.







So outside of my snarky sarcasm and offbeat sense of humour I have been doing a lot of thinking and just wanted to share. If I can motivate one of you little stud muffins then, that shall be enough for me :)






BUT BLAH WHATEVER LET'S TALK ABOUT BAKING NOW MMMMM, KAY?!


I have been watching a lot of South Park. Forgive me ;)




Gluten Free Peaches & Cream Muffins

Yields 8- 10 large bakery style muffins or 14- 16 normal sized muffins 

Gluten Free, Refined Sugar Free


Ingredients:


  • 2  cups gluten free all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup almond flour 
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 
  • 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2/3  cup coconut sugar
  • 1 cup greek yogurt, room temperature  
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 - 3/4 cup almond milk (room temperature) 
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large peaches, peeled and diced into even sized cubes 
  • 1/2 cup white chocolate chips/ white chocolate pieces chopped 


*Melted coconut oil will seize and harden when it comes into contact with cold -- to ensure better blending make sure all ingredients are at room temperature  

Directions:


  1. Preheat oven to 400 F and prepare muffin pans (I like aluminum liners the best because they are double as sturdy!) 
  2. In a medium sized bowl sift all dry ingredients (flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, chocolate chips) 
  3. In a large mixing bowl combine all wet ingredients one at a time until it forms a cohesive mixture
  4. Add dry mixture to wet until combined - the almond milk amount will vary depending on your blend of gluten free flour so have extra handy! The batter will be quite thick so add enough milk until it just becomes hydrated enough to stir somewhat smoothly 
  5. Add in your chopped peaches last - stir them gently into the batter
  6. Scoop mixture into greased muffin pan (amount will depend on the size of muffin you desire) and top (if desired) with coarse sugar crystals 
  7. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 400 F* and then decrease the heat to 365 and bake for an additional 20 - 25  minutes or until top becomes slightly browned and crisp and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean 

*This is to get the large bakery style muffins! A quick shot of high heat at the start activates your leaveners and causes a dome in the center while still keeping the center uncooked -- then you reduce the heat and cook all the way through. If you are making normal sized muffins feel free to just bake at 365 from the beginning for 25 - 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean!* 






The for really real moral of the story for REAL is that these muffins are the bomb diggity.



The peaches infuse the muffins with a crazy amount of moisture -- if you can get your hand of what's left of the fresh Ontario peaches than you MUST do it.


Heck our town has an entire festival around it ;)


It's actually terrible because everyone and their mother wants a peach sundae and the lines look disturbingly like an episode of the walking dead and then you go home and everyone posts photos of their delicious sundaes and you hate yourself for quitting the line LIKE OK WE GET IT THEY WERE DELICIOUS LEAVE ME ALONE :'(

\








But if you can't relate to that and you really just want a snack to take to school (ugh, so soon?!) or work then you will love these!


They perfectly bridge the gap between the seasons, I think.







I hope you either try these, make someone make them for you....or at the very least shoot me a message if you can relate to what I'm going through rn ya dig?!


Love you all. Without people who stumble across me I would not be able to make this leap.


XO 

1 comment:

  1. I love muffins so much, i like this post because it give me guidelines to prepare what i like. Thanks for sharing the recipee here, i will absolutely give it a try.

    ReplyDelete