A couple years ago, a friend that was visiting brought over a few pear muffins that she got from a small, local coffee shop. The coffee shop hasn’t made another batch of these flavored muffins since, and we reminisce about them often. I always say I will make a homemade batch of them for us to share, and I finally got around to doing it. What set these muffins apart was the beautiful, subtle spice from the cardamom and clove, so I tried to replicate that. These taste wonderful for breakfast, cut in half and heated up, with a little butter in between.
For a lot of my more dense baking projects, I like to use applesauce as the replacement for an egg. This time I used puréed pear instead, to give the muffins some added flavor. I also added a bunch of tiny diced pear that turn so sweet and gooey once they’re baked. I highly recommend using pears that are very ripe and soft for this recipe. If you don’t have fresh pears, you can use canned, but be sure to strain the water out really well first. Feel free to add nuts of your choice if you would like.
For a lot of my more dense baking projects, I like to use applesauce as the replacement for an egg. This time I used puréed pear instead, to give the muffins some added flavor. I also added a bunch of tiny diced pear that turn so sweet and gooey once they’re baked. I highly recommend using pears that are very ripe and soft for this recipe. If you don’t have fresh pears, you can use canned, but be sure to strain the water out really well first. Feel free to add nuts of your choice if you would like.
YIELDS
12 muffins
PREP TIME
COOK TIME
TOTAL TIME
- 1/2 cup pear puree
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1/3 cup grape seed oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp ground cardamom
- 1/2 tsp ground clove
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup pealed, diced pears
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Like a cupcake tin with 12 liners. Set aside.
2. In a small whisking bowl, whisk together the pear purée, almond milk, oil, and vanilla. Set aside.
3. I’m a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until combined.
5. Fold in the diced pear.
6. Pour batter into cupcake tin and bake for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.
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Photo: Lauren Sacerdote
