Caramel Peach Muffins

For those of you who prefer the texture of biscuits to the more common, light sponginess of muffins, this recipe might be your ticket. When I was young, my mom would make them as a very rare and special breakfast feast, and, with a jolt, I remembered their goodness this past Father's Day morning and immediately opened one of the dwindling jars of last summer's peaches. Oh, were they good. Eight tablespoons of butter for 12 muffins will do that...

The "muffin" portion is more like a biscuit, almost identical to those used for strawberry shortbread. The caramel topping and the peaches make the biscuit sweet and rich enough for a dessert-like breakfast without being cloyingly so.

One helpful word of warning: these are overturned onto a plate immediately after baking, in a similar fashion to pecan sticky buns, so the muffin tin should be well-greased before being filled and then soaked soon after the muffins are removed for easier cleanup.

8 tablespoons butter, divided
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
at least 1 cup cooked, canned, sliced peaches (I probably use closer to 2 cups)
1 and 1/2 cups flour
2 and 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
2/3 cup milk

In a small bowl in the microwave, or a small saucepan on the stovetop, melt 4 tablespoons butter with the brown sugar. Divide evenly among 12 sections of a well-greased muffin tin. Cover with sliced, drained peaches. (The recipe actually calls for only 3/4 cup peaches, but I use enough slices to cover the muffin, usually 2 or 3 slices per muffin depression, and I slice them fairly thick, because I like a lot of peach in my muffin.)

Sift dry ingredients in a bowl. Cut in the remaining 4 tablespoons cold butter and mix well until crumbs form evenly (about the size of peas or smaller). Make a small well in the center, add the milk, and stir only until moistened. Drop by teaspoonfuls on top of the sliced peaches.

Bake in a 425 degree oven until golden brown, about 18 minutes. Immediately overturn out of pan onto baking sheet or plate and let cool slightly. (If all of the caramel topping and peaches don't easily come out, simply place the peaches on top of the overturned muffin and spoon the caramel over top. I didn't grease my muffin tin well enough and did just that, with no harm done!)