Seasonal Spiced Pear Muffins (Printer-friendly)

Moist muffins packed with ripe pears, crunchy walnuts, and aromatic spices for a cozy snack.

# What You'll Need:

→ Dry Ingredients

01 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1 teaspoon baking powder
03 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
04 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
05 - 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
06 - 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
07 - 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
08 - 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves

→ Wet Ingredients

09 - 2 large eggs
10 - 1/2 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
11 - 1/2 cup whole milk or plant-based milk
12 - 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
13 - 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

→ Fruit & Nuts

14 - 2 medium ripe pears, peeled, cored, and diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
15 - 3/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

# Directions:

01 - Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease lightly.
02 - In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
03 - In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, vegetable oil or melted butter, milk, brown sugar, and vanilla extract until well combined.
04 - Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir gently until just combined; avoid overmixing.
05 - Fold the diced pears and chopped walnuts into the batter delicately.
06 - Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups, filling each approximately three-quarters full.
07 - Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
08 - Allow the muffins to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The pears stay tender and jammy inside while the walnuts give you that satisfying crunch you didn't know you needed.
  • They taste like fall without trying too hard, no pumpkin spice required.
  • You can have the batter ready before your coffee finishes brewing.
02 -
  • Don't overmix the batter or you'll end up with muffins that chew like erasers, stir just until the flour disappears.
  • Dice the pears small enough that they don't weigh down the batter, I learned this after biting into a muffin with a whole pear chunk that slid out the side.
  • Check your baking powder, if it's been sitting in the cupboard since last year it might be dead and your muffins won't rise.
03 -
  • Use an ice cream scoop to fill the muffin cups evenly, it's faster and they all bake at the same rate.
  • Let the batter rest for 5 minutes before scooping if you have time, it helps the leaveners activate and you get a better rise.
  • Sprinkle a few extra walnut pieces on top before baking, it makes them look like you tried harder than you did.
Go back