Weekends call for special baked treats like Spiced Pear Muffins. The muffins are easy and quick to mix up. They bake in less than 30 minutes, meaning you don't have to spend all day working on them. The muffins are low in fat, contain whole grains, and have plenty of warm spices in them for flavor. The pears contribute moisture and sweetness to the muffins, and walnuts add a nice crunch. Dusted with a little raw sugar before baking, the muffins look just as good as those you'll find in coffee shops. Unlike the muffins in the coffee shops, the Spiced Pear Muffins are budget friendly, reasonably nutritious, and bursting with flavor.
Spiced Pear Muffins -- Makes 12
1/3 cup of canola oil
1 egg
2/3 cup of low-fat buttermilk
1/3 cup of dark brown sugar
1/3 cup of granulated sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 1/3 cups of white whole-wheat flour
2/3 cup of all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ginger
1/4 teaspoon of allspice
1 cup of chopped walnuts, divided
1 cup of chopped pears (1 large or 2 small pears)
3-4 tablespoons of turbinado (raw) sugar (optional)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and coat the wells of a 12-cup muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray or line the pan with cupcake liners and spritz the liners with the cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine the oil, egg, buttermilk, sugars, and vanilla and whisk them well. Stir together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices and then stir them into the wet ingredients. Stir in half the walnuts and the pears. Pour the batter into the muffin tin and sprinkle the remainder of the walnuts evenly over the batter. Sprinkle on the turbinado (raw) sugar, if you'd like. Bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes or until browned and a pick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let the muffins cool a few minutes in the pan before removing them to cool completely or eating them.
