Peach Crumb Muffins are the perfect summer muffins, full of juicy fresh peaches and covered in a sweet and flaky crumb topping. Don’t forget the drizzle of frosting at the end!

Muffins are one of my favorite go-to breakfasts and snacks. The flavor possibilities are endless (hi, 2023 Muffin of the Month project!) and it’s so easy to switch up the flavors each month based on what is in season. These cherry chocolate chunk muffins have been my long-time summer favorites, but this year these peach crumb muffins might be taking the lead!

A truly ripe, fresh, summertime peach is impossible to beat. They are so flavorful and juicy that I want to eat all of them – plus make anything peach based, like my peach pie bars or my blueberry peach coffee cake! This year, we’re adding muffins to the mix.

And the best part? These muffins freeze so well, so you can enjoy that delicious fresh peach flavor well after peach season ends! I already have a dozen and a half of these muffins tucked into my freezer to enjoy come fall and early winter.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Butter: We’ll need butter two ways for this: melted and cooled for the muffin batter, and still cold for the streusel.
• Sugar: Both granulated sugar and brown sugar go into these muffins. The brown sugar adds extra moisture and a deeper flavor.
• Eggs: Large eggs, room temperature!
• Buttermilk: Buttermilk adds flavor and makes these peach crumb muffins super tender! If you can find full-fat buttermilk, it’s even better than the low-fat variety. If you don’t have buttermilk, combine 1/2 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar to 3/4 cup of whole milk and let it sit for 5 minutes.
• Vanilla Extract
• Flour: I typically use all-purpose flour in muffin recipes, but you can also use a 1:1 replacement flour with xanthan gum for gluten-free peach muffins
• Salt
• Spices: Ground cinnamon and ginger are my favorites, but feel free to substitute your favorite baking spices, like allspice or cardamom.
• Baking Powder
• Chopped Peaches: The riper and sweeter the peaches, the better the muffins. If you’re using bland and mealy peaches, the peach flavor won’t shine through – look for really ripe, delicious, flavorful peaches. You can also use frozen peaches, but you will want to thaw them, chop them, and dry them with paper towels to remove any excess moisture.

Fresh Peach Muffins with Buttery Crumb Topping

Each component of these muffins complements each other to create the absolute best muffin ever. First, I use fresh peaches for the juiciest, sweetest flavor possible. The brown sugar adds a depth of flavor that gets slightly caramelized in the oven, both in the muffin batter and in the buttery crumb topping!

To make big, beautiful domed muffins, we’re using lots of baking soda, along with my favorite oven temperature trick. Start with an extra hot oven at the beginning of baking to quickly release the steam and gasses from the baking soda, pushing the muffin structure upwards and quickly setting it. Then turn the oven temperature down to bake the inside of the muffin. This will help the muffins grow into bakery-style muffins right at home!

Now, let’s talk about that crumb topping. Do you know what makes a streusel topping so special? The secret to a perfectly crumbly and flavorful streusel is super cold butter and we can learn why with my favorite subject… kitchen chemistry!

Kitchen Chemistry

Cold butter doesn’t fully blend into the dry ingredients, which is key to forming those characteristic crumbs. When you cut the cold butter into the flour and sugar, it stays in small, solid pieces. These pieces melt during baking, creating little pockets of steam that result in a crumbly, tender topping.

After simply mixing the ingredients, topping with the streusel topping, and baking, you will have super moist, fruity muffins with a crumbly and sweet topping.

How to Make Peach Crumb Muffins

1. Preheat the Oven: Preheat your oven to 425°F (190°C). Line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease it lightly.
2. Prepare the Crumb Topping: In a small bowl, mix the flour and brown sugar. Cut the cold butter into the sugar until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
3. Mix the Butter, Sugar, and Eggs: In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and eggs.

4. Add the Remaining Wet Ingredients: Add the buttermilk and vanilla and whisk until well combined.

5. Add the Dry Ingredients: Gently fold in the flour, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and baking powder.

6. Fold in the Peaches: Gently fold in the diced peaches. Be careful not to overmix, as the peaches can break down and make the batter too wet.

7. Fill the Muffin Tin: Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups. Top each muffin with a generous amount of crumb topping.

8. Bake: Bake for 5 minutes, then turn the temperature down to 350°F and bake for an additional 15-18 minutes. Let the muffins cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Recommended Tools to Make Peach Crumb Muffins

• Muffin Tins: These are baked in standard-size muffin tins and will make 12 large muffins.
• Mixing Bowls: My favorite set of glass mixing bowls!
• Whisk: Is it weird to have a favorite whisk? This one is just the right weight!
• Pastry Cutter: A pastry cutter or pastry blender is a great way to work the cold butter into the flour to make the streusel topping.
• Cooling Racks: These racks are sturdy but fold down flat for easy storage.

Tips & Tricks for the Best Muffins

1. Avoid Over Mixing: Mix together the batter until just combined. Avoid over mixing as this can cause dense and tough muffins. There should still be some lumps in the muffin batter.
2. Fill the Muffin Tin: For large, bakery-style muffins, fill the batter at least 3/4 of the way to the top, then mound the streusel on top of the batter.
3. Don’t Over Bake: To ensure that you don’t over bake these muffins, use a toothpick to check that they are done. A toothpick inserted into the middle of one of the muffins should have some moist crumbs on it, but no wet batter.
4. Dry the Peaches Before Adding Them: Dry the fresh peaches with paper towels before folding them into the batter to remove excess moisture.
5. Add a Glaze: For a little bit of extra sweetness, add a simple vanilla icing on top by whisking together powdered sugar, vanilla and milk.

More Peach Recipes

• Peach Pie Bars
• Cinnamon Sugar Peach Bundt Cake
• Spicy Whiskey Peach BBQ Sauce
• Blueberry Peach Coffee Cake
• Peach French Toast Casserole
• Blackberry Peach Galette