Dessert for Breakfast? Yes please.

I just love breakfast.  What better way to start your day than with blueberry pancakes dripping in maple syrup, chocolate chip belgian waffles, almond croissants, ricotta crepes covered in strawberries and whipped cream...let's face facts, my friends.  These are desserts.  They just happen to be served in the morning.

The Cinnamon Streusel Peach Surprise Breakfast Muffin

One of my favorite breakfast treats is the Muffin.  Especially when they're warm and fresh out of the oven, a bit crumbly, lightly buttered...mmmmm muffins.

I try to make something once a week for my colleagues (aka "guinea pigs").  I had a long day and didn't get home until pretty late, so I wanted to make something really quick, but still unique.  So I decided on a Cinnamon Streusel Muffin mix-- but of course with a twist.

Cinnamon muffin batter with
fresh peach chunks

The scrumptious muffins
entering the oven

I looooove summer fruit, and peaches are my absolute favorite.  I throw them into as many dishes as possible--salads, yogurt, oatmeal, bread--and I particularly adore them grilled, drizzled in brown sugar and a dash of vanilla.  YUM.

I've had a few mishaps.  For example, I don't suggest making peach soup.  Feel free to trust me on this one.

But these muffins were super easy.  I followed the box directions, chopped up peaches and mixed them into the batter, gently sprinkled the cinnamon sugar mix on top of each muffin, and placed the chunky batter into the muffin holders.  I promptly licked the bowl (c'mon now, I know I'm not alone here--isn't the batter is the best part!?!)  12 minutes later, they were perfectly baked, which for me means still slightly gooey in the center.  There's nothing worse than a dry, overbaked muffin.

I let them sit overnight (I may have tried 1 muffin before bed,  just to make sure they came out well.  It's extremely difficult to pass up a piping hot, just-out-of-the-oven muffin for goodness sakes).

Good Morning to me

The following morning, I decided to take my little  muffin, freshly sliced peaches, and some Earl Grey tea into my garden for a delicious little breakfast.  Such a fabulous start to my day!

And what did they think at work?  Let's just say the 9 muffins that made it into work (ahem...so I may have had 1 more before heading in) went fairly quickly.

Everyone thought they were light, delicious, and had just the right amount of sweetness, but they couldn't place what fruit I had used.  This is how I came up with the incredibly ingenious name, Cinnamon Streusel Peach Surprise Breakfast Muffins.

Personally, I feel a bit less guilty about having dessert for breakfast if fruit is included in some way.  That's because fruit is good for you.  (Yup.  I can justify just about anything).