Basic Muffin Mix

One of the reasons I was sad to see August go is because August means peaches. Lots and lots of peaches! I buy those baskets of them and eat several a day. They are still available for the next little while, but they are a bit old and even the most enthusiastic peach eater can't make their way through the basket without them getting a little mushy and bruised. But do I throw them out? No! I make them into muffins!

This basic muffin mix allows me to use up mushy peaches, squishy berries, bruised apples and pears, brown bananas or any other fruit that's gone slightly past its prime. But you can add anything to them- veggies, meat, cheese, chocolate, nuts. If you want to get rid of it or feed it to your kid in a sneaky way, hide it in this muffin mix.

Basic Muffin Mix Single Use

2 cups flour
½ cup sugar
¼ cup powdered milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt

Big batch (makes about 4 uses)

8 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup powdered milk
3 tablespoons baking powder
2 teaspoons salt

What else you’ll need

1 cup water
¼ cup oil
1 egg or egg substitute
1 ½ cups of chopped up fruit or other fillings

Combine 2 3/4 cups of mix with water and fruit/toppings and stir well. Pour into greased muffin tins and bake for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit or until tops of muffins are slightly brown. I also make this into a cake sometimes by baking it in a loaf pan or round cake pan and glazed with a mixture of sugar and water in the last 10 minutes of baking.

We ate them for dessert that night (my daughter thought they were cake!) and my husband has been taking them in his lunch all week. Not a single peach was lost...