Pear Almond Muffins

Pear almond muffins hot out of the oven!

I have very fond memories of going to coffee shops with my parents and getting a special treat to enjoy. For a while, it was soda water flavored with tangerine syrup. And later, it became the pear almond muffins from one particular coffee shop. The ones from the shop were super cakey and extra decadent. Delicious but I wanted to recreate that flavor profile while make muffins that are a little lighter…for the every day sweet treat!

So here is my take on a pear almond muffin! I used fresh pears that were ripe but not super soft so that you still have a little texture in the pear after baking. I hope you love them! Adding almond flour makes these a bit lighter but you can also replace it with all-purpose flour.

Pear Almond Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

• 1 cup granulated sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 1 teaspoon almond extract

• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup almond flour

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon Diamond Kosher salt

• 1/2 cup milk (dairy or non-dairy works)

• 2 cups diced pears (about 2 medium pears)

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners and set aside.

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

3. In a large bowl, whisk the butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix until fully incorporated before adding the second. Whisk in the almond extract.

4. Switch to a silicone spatula. Add half of the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix until almost fully incorporated. Gently stir in the milk and once incorporated add the second half of the flour mixture. When fully-mixed with no streaks of flour remaining, gently fold in the pears. Be careful to not work the dough too much.

5. Using a cookie scoop, spoon the batter into the muffin cups. You can fill them right up to the top of the liners. You should get 12 regular-sized muffins.

6. Place your muffin tin in your preheated oven for 10 minutes. After that time, drop the oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking for 15-20 minutes. You’ll know they are done when they are lightly golden-brown on top and a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean with moist crumbs attached.

7. Because of the moisture of the pears, I find the muffins store longer in the fridge. You can warm them slightly in the microwave or toaster before serving from the fridge. You can also wrap the muffins and freeze them.

   Enjoy!

Pear almond muffin glamour shot