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To grind nuts, use a hand-cranked nut grinder or process in a food processor using short pulses to yield a coarse, crumbly texture. If using a food processor, take care not to overprocess the nuts into a smooth paste, which will release their oils and diminish their flavor. For best results, combine the nuts with a little of the flour or sugar called for in the recipe and process for no longer than 5 to 10 seconds at a time.
Ingredients
For the topping:
- 3 Tbs. sugar
- 2 Tbs. chopped walnuts, ground (see note above)
- 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
For the muffins:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup canola oil or walnut oil
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 4 or 5 firm, ripe pears, 2 lb. total, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped
- 1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
Directions
Preheat an oven to 350°F. Grease 14 standard muffin cups with butter or butter-flavored nonstick cooking spray.
To make the topping, in a small bowl, stir together the sugar, walnuts and cinnamon. Set aside.
To make the muffins, in a bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, buttermilk and vanilla until blended. Add the flour mixture, stirring just until evenly moistened. The batter will be slightly lumpy. Using a large silicone spatula, gently fold in the pears and walnuts just until evenly distributed, no more than a few strokes. When mixing, take care not to break up the fruit. Do not overmix.
Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them level with the rim. Sprinkle the muffins with the topping, dividing it evenly. Fill the unused muffin cups one-third full with water to prevent warping. Bake until the muffins are golden, dry and springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the pan(s) to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes, then unmold the muffins onto the rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 14 muffins.
Adapted from The Williams-Sonoma Baking Book, Edited by Chuck Williams (Oxmoor House, 2009).
Rated 1 out of
5
by
Briar from
Needs Adjustment
I only had 4 pears, which came out to about 1lb 8oz and that turned out to be still too much, because the batter was wetter than it should have been going into the oven.
While there was an aroma of warm spices, the taste did not come through in the batter, or in the muffin.
A standard muffin tin, per every restaurant supply website I could find, is the same size as a standard cupcake - 2 1/4" across the bottom. This batter makes 18-20 of the standard size tin. I assume the writer is referring to the jumbo tins that are often found at commercial bakeries in the States today - 2 3/4" at the bottom - not necessarily a standard for home kitchens, certainly not mine.
I had to more than double the topping, and changed the ratio to make it less sweet per my own taste: 6tbsp finely ground nuts (in a food processor, what home cook wastes time on a hand grinder!?) the trick is to grind, then measure, I took the extra and just made it part of my cup for the batter. 6tbsp sugar, and 1 tsp cinnamon - having tasted the muffins, I would have added an additional tsp of cinnamon to both the topping and the batter.
Overall this recipe needs some heavy adjustment, and I am already experimenting with additional upgrades.
Date published: 2024-01-08
Rated 1 out of
5
by
BlueBird from
Measurements??
I should have trusted my instincts. 2 lbs of pears, a pretty juicy fruit even when "firm ripe", seemed excessive. Especially with a bare 1 cup of walnuts. The batter was bland and uninteresting, doing nothing to elevate what should have been a lovely flavor combination of pear & walnut.
I choose not to use muffin cups (no need to add to the landfill), so I am well versed in preparing my baking tins for easy removal. These muffins would simply not let go, they broke and had to be scraped from the tin.
The result was, at best, underwhelming and a nuisance.
The recipe is really more suited to a teacake, baked in a Push Pan lined with parchment. Even then I would reduce the pears by at least a quarter, increase the walnuts and have a heavier hand with the salt, vanilla & nutmeg. And until it is well browned. The clean skewer test is misleading.
Date published: 2019-10-02
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Tbird from
Easy recipe!
This is a great recipe with lots of fall flavors! I substituted pecans for walnuts and added baking spice!
Date published: 2018-09-02
Rated 5 out of
5
by
melanielovestocook from
Moist, nutty and delicious!!
Made these with my toddler and we brought them to a gathering where they were gobbled up in no time! These are so yummy and i will definitely be making them again. And again. ;)
Date published: 2018-05-06
Rated 5 out of
5
by
vegwithlisa from
Moist and delicious
These muffins are fantastic! I followed the recipe as is (it looked like too many pears but it wasn't) and it made 2 dozen smallish/medium sized muffins. Just perfect so you can eat two!
Date published: 2016-09-04
Rated 5 out of
5
by
LovingBaking from
Delicious and Easy
Great recipe! Quick and easy to make and the muffins disappeared very quickly. Will definitely make again! Excellent to use up pears which tend to all ripen at the same time.
Date published: 2013-09-30
