Brown Sugar Peach Cupcakes With Candied Walnuts

For the cupcakes:
Preheat your oven to 350 F. Put paper liners into two 12-count cupcake pans (recipe makes 18 so only line 18 holes).

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium sized bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugars for about 3 minutes. Once fluffy, add in the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.

Stir the vanilla into the milk in a measuring cup. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and 1/3 of the milk mixture into the butter/sugar/egg mixture and beat until combined. Repeat this twice with the remaining flour and milk mixtures until batter is mixed thoroughly. Stir in the peach puree.

Scoop the batter into the cupcake pan using a regular ice cream scooper or spoon, filling each liner 3/4 of the way full.

Bake 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove pans from the oven and let cupcakes cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:
Beat together the butter, sugar, vanilla, salt, and peach puree in a large bowl until smooth.

For the candied walnuts:
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Then, heat the sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a small saucepan on high heat. Stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture is completely melted. When it’s starting to bubble, take pan off the heat, and pour the walnuts into the saucepan. Mix to coat them with the sugar mixture. Work quickly because the sugar will harden fast. Pour the walnuts onto the parchment paper lined baking sheet, let them cool slightly, then start breaking them apart with your hands.

Frost the cooled cupcakes then garnish with the walnuts and a wedge of fresh peach. Enjoy!

* For the peach puree:
For total amount of peach puree I used 1 1/2 peaches total. I used one peach to make 1/2 cup and half of a peach to make 1/4 cup. Remove the skin and pits from the peaches then place them in a processor or blender. Process until you have a nice puree.