Pear and Ginger Muffins

This is the second of three muffin recipes I made last week (yes, three). I like having muffins in the freezer at work to eat for random hunger attacks. Beats eating a candy bar.

This recipe comes from Nigella, who is one of my culinary heroines, and true to her other recipes that I've tried so far, these are easy, yummy, and flavorful. The pears can get quite molten hot, so if you decide to eat these warm, be just a tad careful. The sweet fruit and warm ginger flavor go very well together, and the muffins turned out moist and tender.




Pear and Ginger Muffins (adapted from Nigella Express)

Ingredients:
1 & 3/4 cups flour (I used 1 cup AP flour, 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour)
3/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon honey
2 eggs
1 & 1/2 cups peeled and chopped pears (about 1/4 inch dice; I used canned pears)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease or line a standard muffin pan. This recipe makes 12 muffins.

In one bowl, mix together the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and ground ginger.

In another bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the sour cream, oil, honey, and eggs.

Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and fold together using as few strokes as possible (~10). While there is still a little bit of dry flour visible, dump in the chopped pears and continue to fold until dry ingredients are just incorporated and pears are evenly distributed.

Divide batter amongst 12 muffin cups. You can sprinkle a little bit of turbinado sugar or a little more brown sugar to make a sugary topping. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm if possible. Once cool, store in airtight container and fridge/freeze.