Ripe autumn pears dance beautifully with spicy ginger!
We had a lovely brunch with friends Suzy and Bob last week at the peak of Vermont’s fabulous foliage color. It was an autumn celebration of some of the best of the season: a frittata featuring native squash, beans, and corn. Roasted potatoes, of course. A few other frills, and apple crisp for dessert.
These kind and wonderful friends brought me a beautiful gift, a ceramic muffin pan in a lovely design, suitable for serving! So pretty, I was delighted to discover the pan, from the company Temp-tations, in addition to being beautiful, it is oven (to 500 degrees), dishwasher, and microwave safe! A modern beauty.
Of course, I had to put it to use and decided on our fall favorite muffins using the fruit at its best and our local ginger. They look like a humble old-fashioned muffin, but are packed with fruit and ginger flavor. My grandson asked me if any muffin could be as good!
A quick prep
I chopped the pears roughly into ¼- to ½-inch dice, and did not peel them. The pears keep the muffins really moist. Grate the ginger, skin and all! Chopping the crystalized ginger was challenging as it sticks to the knife! After a few initial chops, I added a pinch more sugar and that helped. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, use any dairy or plant milk (I used oat milk) acidified with a half teaspoon of vinegar.
You can slip in a little nutrition, but they are still a treat!
I originally used my friend Carol’s recipe for apple muffins, substituting pears and swapping out the spices. This time around, I made them with half whole wheat flour and half white, but I’ve also made them with 100% whole gain. A modest muffin at 200 calories, they are not the dinner plate variety one often sees that could feed a family, and they are not overly sweet! You can also lower the sugar to 1/3 cup each white and brown.
So pour yourself a cup of tea and enjoy this perfect afternoon snack –– moist, with the pear flavor coming through strong, and a definite zing from the ginger. And the best part? For myself, every time I use the pan, I’ll think of Suzy and Bob as they head for their warmer winter nest.
Pear and Ginger Muffins
- 2 cups chopped ripe pears
- Juice of one lemon
- 1 cup unbleached white flour
- 1 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
- ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1-inch knob of ginger, finely grated
- 1/3 cup crystalized ginger, fine chop
- 1 stick butter or vegan butter, softened
- ½ cup white sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ cup buttermilk or other acidified milk of choice
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and butter and flour muffin cups. You can also line with papers.
Chop the pears and add the lemon juice. Set aside.
Whisk together the flours, baking powder, soda, salt, ginger, and cinnamon. Add the fresh and crystalized gingers and mix up to coat well. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream the butter with the sugars until light. Add the eggs one at a time, and then the vanilla.
Using a wooden spoon or spatula, add half the dry ingredients, the milk, then the rest of the dry ingredients. Do not over mix. Gently fold in the pears.
Fill the cups with an ice cream scoop. You should be able to make a dozen.
Bake for 20 minutes, turn the pan, and bake for another five or 10, or until a toothpick comes out clean and the tops are browned. Let cool, and enjoy.
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I crave muffins like these to go with my morning coffee! Yum!
Perfect! They make a nice light breakfast.
These look so moist and tasty, and the pan is beautiful!
I’m a big fan of pear-ginger combination. 🙂
Thank you Ronit! They are really moist, and if they didn’t all get eaten, I’m sure they would last a few days!
I am definitely going to have to try those. 🙂
I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!
I think I will. 🙂
Save me a couple for breakfast tomorrow. ☕️🌿
You got it my friend, but you’d better not be late. These have no “keeping quality”!
Dorothy your menu looks amazing! That pear and ginger muffin recipe looks a treat too – I adore ginger!
Ithank you so much! I adore it too Paula! So do my kids and grandkids!
Coffee wants to join I on the dance. These are perfect for the season and for any time of the day. They look hot, moist and so yummy!💞🍮🍮💞
Let’s have coffee then! I’ll make the muffins and a pot of Papua New Guinea Korofeigue, fair trade of course!
Awesome! I am ready! Yummy yum!
Wow! That ceramic muffin pan is really pretty ☺️ and these muffins sound delicious 😋 I wouldn’t say I like ginger too much, but I guess this is an excellent combination of flavors 😉
Well, if you don’t care for ginger, this is not the muffin for you! But I’ll let you borrow the pan!
Hahaha…thanks Dorothy 😉
These look amazing!!! 👍
Thank you! They are really tasty!
A delicious muffin in a beautiful pan – win, win.
The pan began the thought process!
Dorothy, I always look forward to pears in the fall. I usually use them in salads but this muffin looks fabulous. I will have to give it a try.
This year, they’ve been particularly delicious, sweet and juicy!
I’ll take two. Love the new muffin pan :).
They’re yours!
Yum!!
These muffins looks so delectable.
Thank you so much! They are quite addictive!
Now these, I can do! I will not have a lovely muffin pan, but we will eat them anyway. 🙂
They are delicious no matter the pan!
You got me at pears and ginger…That pan I absolutely love it!
A wonderful combination, isn’t it! The pan is now a kitchen treasure.
Pears and three kinds of ginger, now that sounds like a tasty muffin.
They are filled with ginger goodness! A real pick me up!
The muffins sound delightful and I love your pretty new pan!
Jenna
I will always think of Suzy when I use it, that’s the best part!
What a beautiful cupcake pan! And these muffins are perfect for fall—they sound delicious! 🙂
Thank you Nancy! The pan will be treasured, and the muffins, continually enjoyed!
I don’t know what I love better, your recipe or that ceramic cupcake pan!!! How does it cook compared to aluminum? I have never seen a ceramic one.I bet your grandson got an extra one with that comment. lol
Since my ceramic pan holds 6 cupcakes and my recipe makes 12, I actually did a little baking test and finished off the batter with my old metal pan. The metal pan baked them about the same, maybe a minute or two faster and at the same time in the oven, we’re a bit more brown. But, there was little difference. I suspect it would be more of a difference with, say, a bread.
How nice to use three types of ginger, that must provide a lot of complexity. Pear and ginger work very well together. Is skyr available over there? It’s Icelandic yogurt with 0% fat and 11% protein. The cupcakes will become even more nutritious if you swap the buttermilk for skyr.
Yes, we have a lovely local skyr, and it would be a great replacement here.
I have some canned pears I need to use, this is the perfect recipe inspiration!! Thank you!
Hope you enjoy them Averyl! You can’t be anything but grateful for this world when you eat these!
Pear and Ginger is one of my favorite combos!
It’s one of my favorites as well!
Oh! I had a pear alongside my bowl of cereal this morning. Pear and ginger muffins sound like a great combo!
Thanks Christy, they go together so well!
Nice fall flavors. Perfect for breakfast.
Thanks Jovina! They are a perfect breakfast, or afternoon snack.
Lovely recipe…Will try this for sure 😍
Thank you! I hope you enjoy them!
This is going to be a must try!!
I hope you enjoy them as much as we do!