These Brown Butter Nectarine Muffins are incredibly moist and flavorful. They’re perfect for Sunday brunch or as a quick snack!
Do you have a favorite comfort food? I must require a lot of comfort because I have more of them than I care to admit. Sometimes when I’m stressed out I absolutely need ice cream and nothing else will suffice.
Other times I want something savory, warm and full of carbs like pizza or a big bowl of cheesy pasta. And then sometimes it’s not so much about what I want to eat; it’s about what I want to make.
The kitchen has become my sanctuary; a place that I turn to when I need to escape from the world around me. It’s a place where I can be both creative and methodical. I can work without thinking and invent something entirely new while in the zone.
There’s a certain zen to baking muffins that I find incredibly soothing and I’m not entirely sure why. It may be because they’re so formulaic. Muffins are very forgiving. They are adaptable. They can be taken in an infinite number of directions. Fresh from the oven, muffins are like soft, warm pillows. Tasty, buttery pillows.
I especially love adding brown butter to muffins. It adds such an incredible depth of flavor and richness. But if you prefer to keep things more simple you can just melt the butter without browning it and use it exactly the same way in the recipe.
Brown Butter Nectarine Muffins
Ingredients
- 4 ounces unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 7 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour (approximately 1 1/2 cups)
- 3 1/2 ounces granulated sugar (1/2 cup)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 ripe nectarines, finely diced
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup milk, (whole, skim, non-dairy, etc)
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with baking cups or grease the pan with baking spray.
- To prepare the brown butter, melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. As the butter melts, whisk it frequently until foam begins to appear. Once you see the foam, whisk constantly until the butter begins to brown and it smells nutty and fragrant. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. (Note: butter can go from brown to burnt very quickly so do not leave it unattended).
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cornstarch, baking powder and cinnamon. Stir in the chopped nectarines and make sure they don't clump together.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, vanilla, milk and brown butter. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined. Don't overwork the batter; some lumps are fine.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle a bit of brown sugar on top of each muffin.
- Bake for 22-25 minutes, until the tops are starting to brown. Allow to cool for 5 minutes.
- Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
Please read my full post for additional recipe notes, tips, and serving suggestions!
Nutrition
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Love the use of almond milk in this!
Brown butter and nectarine sounds so delicious! They look amazing!
I love all things brown butter and the addition of nectarines makes these amazing! Love it!
did you just put one of my favorite fruits into a muffin and with browned butter? yeah for this recipe. I heart nectarines and use them often but never tried to throw them in a muffin batter/ Can’t wait to taste these myself!
Baking anything brings me zen…but you are right, muffins are forgiving and very adaptable. Love your combo of browned butter balanced with nectarines – lovely!
Beautiful celebration of summer fruit!
espectaculares sin más además me encantan las nectarinas. Fantásticas fotos.
Beautiful! I love that you incorporated brown butter in these.
I am genuinely in love with your muffins.
Damn, your gastronomic description for these pillows are surreal. Can’t wait to try this out.
I love baking with almond milk and use it almost all the time. It’s been too long since I’ve made muffins. These sound so comforting and summery. My favorite comfort food is wild king salmon. Weird, I know!
Brown butter and nectarines are MFEO!! These are beautiful!
Can regular milk be used?
yes
Just made these for breakfast. Yum!! Kids ate about 4 each. Mine took a little longer to bake and even though they never browned much they still had a nice crisp edge. I topped some of them with toasted pumpkin seeds I had leftover from last nights salad & those were tasty, too!
Super love your gorgeous photos!!!
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! :)
I know I’m almost five years late, but I just discovered this when searching for a muffin recipe to use up some nectarines that were on their last legs! What a great recipe. I made it with a mix of stone fruit and used 1/2 cup white flour and 1 cup whole meal. My family loves them and I’ve since made a second batch, they freeze so well and a great for an on the run breakfast. Thanks!
I’m so happy you liked them! :)