These are the fluffiest peach macadamia nut muffins packed with fresh peaches and crunchy nuts, finished off with a buttery brown sugar streusel. I make these every year when peaches come into season and I always double the recipe because as soon as we finish one batch we’re craving a second!
If you love the fruity, nutty crunch in recipes like banana nut muffins, wait until you try these moist and fluffy peach muffins.
Easy Peach Macadamia Nut Muffins
These peach muffins have a light and buttery brown sugar flavor, with a crunchy streusel topping, a bit like my peach pie cupcakes. I make these muffins every summer when I get my hands on some ripe yellow peaches. The moist, tender crumb is packed with juicy bites of fruit and toasty macadamia nuts for an irresistible texture and crunch. The batter is easy to make, and these muffins are perfect for breakfast or brunch, or I’ll take them as a quick snack on the go.
Why I Love These Peach Muffins
- Made with real peaches. Fresh peaches are a MUST for this recipe (the fresher, the better) and their flavor and juiciness shine through in every bite.
- Moist and fluffy. I include ingredients like buttermilk and sour cream in the batter. Not only does it make these peach muffins insanely moist, but it gives the crumb a subtle tang that’s delicious alongside the sweet peaches and brown sugar.
- Adaptable. I know that macadamia nuts can be expensive depending on where you live, so feel free to adapt this recipe with other nuts like walnuts, or make them nut-free to pack in school lunches. They taste great with ½ cup of white chocolate chips added to the batter!
Helpful Ingredient Notes
There are a handful of important ingredients that make these peach muffins especially soft and moist. I’ve included some notes below. Scroll to the recipe card where you’ll find a printable list with the full recipe details.
- Peaches – You’ll need about 2-3 ripe peaches. Make sure that your peaches are fresh for the best flavor, and dice them up into dime-sized pieces or smaller.
- Cinnamon – Ground cinnamon, or you can use nutmeg or pie spice.
- Sugar – These muffins use both granulated sugar and brown sugar.
- Buttermilk – If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make this homemade substitute. Make sure that the buttermilk is at room temperature, and not cold from the fridge.
- Sour Cream – Another secret to extra moist muffins, cakes, and cupcakes. If you don’t have sour cream, use plain or Greek yogurt instead.
- Nuts – I love the saltiness and crunch of dry roasted macadamia nuts in contrast to the sweet, juicy peaches. They’re optional, though, and can be substituted for other nuts like walnuts or pecans.
How to Make Peach Macadamia Nut Muffins
I love making muffins almost as much as I love making quick bread since the recipes are quick and easy. They’re especially forgiving, too, if you’re new to baking. Follow these short steps and scroll to the recipe card for printable instructions.
- Prepare: Grab the ingredients that need to be at room temperature. While you’re waiting for that, prepare the streusel. Combine the melted butter with the dry ingredients, mixing until well combined. Then set aside. Prepare and measure the remaining ingredients.
- Make the muffin batter. First, combine the dry ingredients and set these aside while you beat the eggs with oil, butter, buttermilk, vanilla, and sour cream in a large mixing bowl. Afterward, slowly mix the dry ingredients into the wet batter. Fold in the peaches and nuts by hand.
- Rest the batter. Let the batter rest, covered with plastic wrap, for 20 minutes.
- Fill the pan. Use a large cookie scoop to add the batter to a lined muffin tin. Fill the batter right to the top but not over the top of the liner. Leave one empty well in between each filled well, as pictured, so that the muffins have room to expand while they bake. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with streusel.
- Bake. Bake your muffins at 375ºF for 16-20 minutes, and cool before serving.
My Best Muffin Baking Tip
- Make the streusel first. This allows the butter to full absorb the dry ingredients and instead of being a wet streusel on top, it’s drier. This makes a much more uniform crumb topping and even helps to to be a little crunchier.
- Rest the batter. This is key for tall, moist muffins! Letting the muffin batter rest for 20 minutes or so lets the flour absorb more of the moisture, for tender muffins that aren’t cakey or dry. It also helps thicken the batter and brings out the flavors, for better texture and taste all around.
- How to Fill the Liners You’ll want to fill the liners to he top but don’t overfill beyond that. The muffin batter is heavy and too much batter will cause the muffins to rise and sink.
- Leave space in the pan. This recipe makes 12 bakery-style muffins, so I use two muffin pans and fill only 6 wells per pan. The muffins need room to expand while they are baking, so filling every other cavity allows space for the muffins to rise. I learned this tip from my friend Beth at The First Year Blog. She wrote an amazing cookbook all about muffins and this was one of her tips.
How To Prevent Muffins from Sinking
It is truly a sad day when your muffins come out of the oven with a beautiful dome, only to collapse as they cool.
- Make sure the oven is fully preheated. This seems like a no-brainer, but my oven beeps for preheat after about 15 minutes, and my internal oven thermometer indicates it is no where NEAR true temperature.
- Test the muffins for doneness. I usually do this by sticking a toothpick into the center of a baked muffin. If the toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs, the muffins are done. If there is any indication of wetness on the toothpick, give it another couple of minutes.
- Test several muffins. Unless you are using a measuring cup to evenly fill the muffin pan, some muffins may bake faster than others, especially the ones at the back of the oven. Test multiple muffins before pulling them from the oven.
How to Store
- Storing. These peach macadamia nut muffins are best enjoyed within 2 days. Store the cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature. Lining the bottom of the container with a paper towel helps absorb moisture and keeps the muffins from getting soggy.
- Freezing. Freeze the baked muffins in a single layer in a freezer-safe container. Thaw at room temperature for serving.
More Muffins Recipes
- Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Pumpkin Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Muffins
- Blueberry Muffins
- Chocolate Chip Muffins
Peach Macadamia Nut Muffins
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 18 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 3 minutes
- Yield: 12 muffins
- Category: Muffins
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Description
These peach macadamia nut muffins are packed with juicy peaches and crunchy nuts, and topped with a buttery streusel. They’re quick and easy, perfect for baking when fresh peaches are in season!
Ingredients
For the Streusel
- 5 tablespoons (70g) Unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup (95g) Granulated sugar
- ¾ cup (90g) All-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon Ground cinnamon
For the Muffins
- 2 large or 3 medium peaches, diced (about 1 heaping cup).
- 2 ½ cups (300g) All-purpose flour
- 2 ½ teaspoons (10g) Baking powder
- 1 teaspoon (4g) Baking soda
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Ground cinnamon
- ½ cup (95g) Granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (56g) Light brown sugar
- 2 Large eggs, at room temperature
- ¼ cup (59ml) Vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons (28g) Unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup (236ml) Buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (64g) Full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons (10ml) pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup Dry roasted macadamia nuts, finely chopped
Instructions
- Prepare the streusel by combining the melted butter with the dry ingredients until well combined. Set the streusel aside to allow the dry ingredients to absorb into the butter.
- Peel and dice the peaches into small pieces, about the size of a dime. Set aside.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Set aside
- In a separate, large mixing bowl, beat the eggs until fluffy then add oil, butter, buttermilk, vanilla, and sour cream and beat until well combined.
- Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, and beat just until the flour starts to incorporate. Fold in the peaches and nuts in with a spatula and finish mixing the batter by hand. Rest the batter for 20 minutes, cover with plastic wrap.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with 6 paper liners, altering them with an empty space in between. Use a large cookie scoop to fill muffin liners to the very top. Top each muffin with streusel.
- Bake both trays in the middle rack of the oven for 16-20 minutes. Test the muffins for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the muffins. If the toothpick is clean, the muffins are done. Cool prior to serving.
Notes
- Nuts: Macadamia nuts can be swapped out for any other variety or left out altogether.
- Peaches. Peaches should be chopped to a dime size or smaller.
- Buttermilk. If you don’t have buttermilk, I suggest this homemade option using 1 tablespoon of distilled white vinegar or lemon juice combined with the milk (replace 1 tbsp of milk with either the lemon juice or vinegar).
- Room temperature ingredients: While you’re waiting for the ingredients to come to room temperature, you can prepare the streusel and line the pans
- Streusel. If you want to skip the streusel all together, I recommend using a coarse sparkling sugar topping.
Storing
- Storing: Muffins are at their freshest within 2 days of baking. Let the muffins cool completely and then store the muffins airtight at room temperature. I like to line the bottom of the container with a paper towel to help absorb any excess moisture.
- Freezing. Baked muffins can be frozen in an airtight, freezer-safe container. Thaw to room temperature prior to eating. Freeze in a single layer for best results.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 muffin
- Calories: 395
- Sugar: 24.8 g
- Sodium: 242.2 mg
- Fat: 18.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 52.7 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 6.1 g
- Cholesterol: 54.8 mg
Do you think this would work with canned peaches, drained? Thanks.
Yes I would drain them and maybe even put them on a few paper towels to absorb extra moisture
Hi Susan, I am sorry you are having trouble. There are 2 links within this post that link to the recipe. So that you know for the next time, words that are the light pink color are the links.
Hi Pam- This recipe was written for a contributor post. If you scan through the post, there is a couple links that will take you to the recipe. Thanks
Hi Pam. The link is in the post twice. Once when you click on “Peach Macadamia Nut Muffins” and again lower in the post where is says head over there to get the recipe. I have posted the direct link below for your convenience.
http://mycookingspot.com/peach-and-macadamia-nut-muffins-with-streusel-topping/
Thanks Jackie!
Thanks for the kind words Wendy! Peaches are my favorite “non berry” fruit, so I am pretty excited about these muffins!
Thanks Lindsey!
Hi Cathy! Yes I it’s exciting as well! I love the sweetness of the peaches with the contrasting saltiness of the nuts.