Pear Muffins

You can probably see if you look at previous posts, that I am a big muffin and quick bread fan. They are my comfort food. My son loves them too, he wants some in his lunch everyday. So, I experiment quite a bit with different kinds to give us a little variety. I had a bunch of ripe pears and I thought I would give them a try in a muffin. I have found my favorite.

This muffin is so good. It honestly is my favorite! I love the way the pears taste. I think I will use this recipe as my "base" from now on and find new things to add to the middle. I can already imagine blueberries, peaches, apples, chocolate chips, strawberries... I could keep going on.

Pear Muffins

3 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp. salt

4 tsp. baking powder

2/3 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

approximately 1/2 cup milk

2 cups peeled and diced pears

Crumb topping:

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/4 cup cubed butter

1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and spray muffin tins with cooking spray.

Combine flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 2 cup measuring cup, add the eggs and then add enough milk to take it up to 2 cups (if you don't have a 2 cup measuring cup, then half the oil, eggs and milk into a 1 cup measuring cup.) Mix the flour mixture with the oil mixture and then add the pears.

In a medium bowl, mix the crumb topping ingredients and cut with a fork until the butter is in very small pieces. This works best when the butter is still a little bit cold, if it is too warm it will just mush with pressure from the fork.

Fill the muffin tins right to the top and the sprinkle with the crumb topping mixture. Bake for 15 minutes - again, I take it out as soon as possible! If you are using the little mini tins, then about 10 minutes. You can put a toothpick in to see if it is done, but they are so much better if they aren't over baked.

Look at the middle of this muffin! Pete thinks it tastes like his favorite cake at Starbucks, so yummy!