Spiced Pear and Walnut Muffins

Those little gems are called muffins. Neat little individual packages of goodness that are great for breakfast, lunch and snacking time. These muffins are quick to make and travel well. They have all the flavors of autumn and a sweet, crunchy topping of brown sugar and nuts. Get your muffin tin out and bake a batch of spiced pear and banana walnut muffins.

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Editor’s note: This is an updated version of an article originally posted September 2017 with better photos and additional information.

About Pears

Pears are delicious and healthy. One medium pear has about 100 calories and is a good source of vitamin C and an excellent source of fiber when eaten with the skin.

In zones 5 and 6, where I live, pear harvest begins in August and peeks in October for most varieties.

How to Choose Pears

• Look for firm or hard unripe pears with no bruises or cuts and with stems that are in place.
• Pears are one of a handful of fruits that are actually better if ripened after picking. Because they are delicate, it’s better to ripen pears at home rather than purchasing them ripe.

How to Store or Ripen Pears

• Once harvested, most pears will require about a week to ripen at room temperature (about 65-72ºF).
• You can speed up this process by storing the fruit in a paper bag, so that it will ripen in just a few days. You can also choose to store your harvested pears with an apple or banana — fruits that are more prone to releasing ethylene gas. That accelerates the ripening process.
• You can also refrigerate unripe pears until you are ready to ripen them; then keep at room temperature.
• You cannot test ripeness by color because some varieties will not change color after picking.
• To check for ripeness of a pear, gently press the stem end of the pear with your thumb. When the flesh yields easily to gentle pressure, it is time to eat your pear. If you have to push more than slightly, it is not ready yet.
•  To keep ripe pears longer, refrigerate them 3 to 5 days after ripening.

Making Muffins

Great thing about muffins is that you don’t need a whole afternoon in order to make and bake delicious muffins from scratch. Muffins are a quick bread in individual serving size. They get their rise from leavening rather than yeast so the whole process takes less than an hour to prepare and bake.

Freezing Muffins

If you visit here very often you know I am always touting the benefits of freezing food. Day-old doesn’t cut it for me, especially for baked goods. Fresh-from-the-oven is what I like best and proper freezing preserves that freshness.

Bake, Freeze, Heat Spiced Pear and Walnut Muffins

Bake your muffins as directed by the recipe. Let them cool completely, and then seal them up in an airtight freezer bag. Freezing can extend your muffins’ shelf life up to 3 months. I get those extra muffins into the freezer quickly before devouring too many to prevent tight pants and a bulging  “muffin top.” 😉

To reheat by either microwave or oven method

• Place a muffin in the microwave and heat on high for about 15-20 seconds being careful not to overheat. Allow to rest a minute before enjoying. I don’t usually do this, but you can dampen a napkin or paper towel with water and cover the muffin while microwaving.
• Pop the muffins back in the oven or toaster-oven at 350 degrees until they are heated and the center is warm.

So, let’s get to making a batch of yummy pear, banana and walnut muffins!

While the oven is preheating to 350 F, lightly grease or line a muffin tin with paper liners. I prefer to grease just the bottoms of a muffin tin as this produces a nice, rounded crown on the muffin top.

Chop 2/3 cups walnuts or pecans.

Measure 2 teaspoons of baking powder, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ginger, and a 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Add the spices to 2 cups of flour and whisk until thoroughly combined.

Peel, core and dice 2 pears. 

Combine the pears, the granulated and brown sugar.   

Toss until the pears are well coated.

Mash 2 ripe bananas.

Add the bananas, eggs, oil and vanilla to a medium bowl.

Whisk until blended. 

Add the dry ingredients into the banana mixture; mix well. 

Add the pears and walnuts/pecans.

Fold just until combined.

Spoon into prepared muffin cups, dividing batter equally.

Making the crumb topping for pear, banana and walnut muffins

Measure 1/3 cup packed brown sugar, a 1/3 of a cup chopped walnuts/pecans, 1/4 cup flour, and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.

Pour  in the 2 tablespoons of melted butter.

Toss with a fork until combined.

Sprinkle the topping evenly over the muffins.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden.

Allow the muffins to rest for a couple of minutes before removing from the tin to a cooling rack.

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Spiced Pear and Walnut Muffins

PRINT RECIPE

Makes: 12 muffins

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 pears, peeled, cored and diced
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  2 bananas, mashed
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup walnuts or pecans

Topping:

• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans)
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease or line muffin tin with paper liners.

Combine the pears and sugars. Toss until the pears are well coated.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Set aside.

Beat together bananas, eggs, oil and vanilla until blended. Add the dry ingredients into the banana mixture; mix well.

Fold in pears and walnuts just until combined.

Spoon into prepared muffin cups, dividing batter equally.

For the topping, combine brown sugar, chopped walnuts, flour, butter and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over the muffins.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden.

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