Spiced Pear Muffins

Spiced Pear Muffins

Do you read The Kitchn? I love the website. They always have helpful tips, recipes and just plain pretty things. I had a few pears on my counter and found Emma Christensen's recipe for Spiced Pear Muffins.

I used lovely bartlett pears from Ha's Farms. They are a farmer's market vendor in Hollywood, Torrance, Palos Verdes and a few other places. They have wonderful apples and even better pears. Unlike other muffin recipes that are more "quick bread" (liquid and dry ingredients combine), this recipe creams the butter and sugar together - more like a cake batter. As you can see, the batter is thick.

The original recipe uses a mix of whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour. I didn't have any whole wheat flour in the house so I used all a-p flour. Also, I made these quite early in the morning and completely forgot to put cinnamon-sugar on top of the muffins...as well as the ground ginger. It was too early for me. Oops.

I dropped these off, along with some cookies, at my former workplace. Although I enjoy my new place, I was at the old library for five years and miss the folks. I miss hearing about K's beautiful granddaughter, E's smart toddler who never has a bad hair day, J's travels around the globe, V's gardening and her intelligent sons, P's son who is a fire fighter explorer (I wish I could join :), F's March Madness (UCLA Bruins all the way), and H's discussion of White Collar and all things George Clooney.

These were a hit at the library. I hope you make some for your friends and family - especially those that you don't see everyday.

Spiced Pear Muffins
Adapted from Emma Christensen / The Kitchn's Spiced Pear Muffins
See the original recipe here (as well as very pretty photos)


1/2 cup (4 oz) light brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup (2 oz) white sugar
1 stick (4 oz) unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (10 oz) all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (4 oz) milk (I used whole milk)
2 to 2 1/2 cups pears, unpeeled and diced small (2 medium-sized pears, about 11 oz whole) (I used two Bartlet pears from Ha's Farm)
Cinnamon-and-Sugar for sprinkling on top (You can make a mix of 1/4 cup white sugar and 1 Tablespoon cinnamon, but only sprinkle a bit of that on the muffin and save the rest for cinnamon toast).

Preheat oven to 425°F. Prepare 12-muffin cup pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, spices, and salt. Set aside.

In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream together the sugars and butter until fluffy. Add eggs one at at time and beat for 1 minute after each egg. Add the vanilla extract and mix. Scrape down side of bowl.

With the mixer on low speed, alternate adding the flour mixture and milk, starting and ending with the flour until just combined. Don't overmix! Fold pears into the batter.

Fill muffin cups. I use an ice cream disher. I didn't fill mine as high as The Kitchn and got 15 muffins, but you can fill them full to get 12 bigger muffins. Sprinkle the tops with cinnamon and sugar.

Place the muffins in the oven and immediately turn down the heat to 400°F (don't miss this part!) Bake for 20-25 minutes until the tops are cracked and a toothpick comes out clean.