Gluten-Free Peach-Flax Upside Down Muffins Recipe

Published June 27, 2013 02:15PM

These muffins are sure to be a hit as a nutritious breakfast, snack, or dessert. They are a creative and beautiful way to use juicy peaches and replace the traditionally unhealthy ingredients used to make muffins with some healthier options.

Customize your muffins. Since nectarines and apricots are also in season, they may also be used in place of the peaches. Apples or pears work as well. These muffins can be made with regular all-purpose or whole-wheat pastry flour if you aren’t gluten free. If you follow a vegan diet, leave out the eggs and use 2 tablespoons of flax seed, whisked with 2 tablespoons of water, to make a “flax egg” replacement, and substitute coconut milk yogurt for the Greek yogurt.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons agave
2 large or 3 small peaches, pitted and finely diced
2 eggs
2 tablespoon whole-ground flaxseed meal
3/4 cup (6oz container) non-fat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
1/2 cup brown rice syrup (or brown sugar or your sweetener of choice)
1/4 cup agave
1 tablespoon molasses
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups all-purpose gluten free flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Combine the diced peaches with the 3 tablespoons of agave in a small bowl and reserve.
3. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, flaxseed, yogurt, coconut oil, brown rice syrup, ¼ cup agave, molasses and vanilla.
4. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients from the other bowl. Gently combine with a rubber spatula.
5. Coat 12 muffin cups very generously with cooking spray. This step is important and assures the muffins come out easily. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of the peach-agave mixture into each muffin cup. Using a large ice cream scoop (easy way to keep the muffins uniform in size), place one scoop of batter over the peach mixture in the muffin cups. The batter should fill to just below the top of the muffin cup.
6. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until the muffins spring back when touched.
7. Remove from the oven and immediately loosen the edges with a butter knife and turn the muffins over on a large cutting board. Scoop any excess peach mixture out of the muffin cups onto the muffins. This step can be tricky as sometimes the muffins stick to the pan, so don’t worry if they don’t all fall out right away. Just use the butter knife to go back and loosen the stubborn muffins a second time.

Jessica Cerra is the owner of Fit Food by Jess, a private chef and catering company in Encinitas, Calif. She is also a professional Xterra triathlete and mountain biker. Follow Jess’ recipes on her “Fit Food by Jess” Facebook page.