Pear and Hazelnut Muffins

Smitten Kitchen

Yield: Theoretically, 12 muffins, but I got 16.

• 2 small-medium firm pears
• 6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly (plus more for cups)
• 2/3 cup (125 grams) natural cane sugar, such as Turbinado, light brown or granulated sugar
• 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup (75 grams) rolled oats
• 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (60 grams) whole wheat flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom, which I replaced with 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg, which I replaced with 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup (120 grams) toasted hazelnuts, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup (85 grams) bittersweet chocolate chunks (optional)

This recipe, however, I tweaked it a bit, mostly because it used many bowls and I wanted it to use fewer. A bunch more notes: This calls for 1 cup all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat (pastry flour was recommended) but I think it can be tweaked with any flour mix your prefer, be it mostly whole wheat or white whole wheat, or a gluten-free mix (Sprouted Kitchen smartly recommends 1/2 cup each of oat, almond and brown rice flour). I (always) think you could brown the butter. Yogurt thinned with a little milk could replace the buttermilk, as could coconut milk with 1 tablespoon lemon juice added, and coconut oil or olive oil could replace the butter, just to give you a few ideas. The bittersweet chocolate chunks were not necessary, but they were not regretted either.

Heat oven to 425°F. Butter a standard 12-cup muffin tin or line it with papers.

Peel (if you so desire, can be skipped) pears, then halve and core them. Grate pears on the large holes of a boxed grater into a large bowl. You should have about 1 cup grated (although I ended up with 1 1/2, opting to meet the recipe halfway and used 1 1/4 cups). Stir in melted butter, sugar, buttermilk, eggs and vanilla until combined.

In a separate bowl, stir together the oats, flours, baking soda, baking powder, spices, salt, all but 1/2 cup coarsely chopped hazelnuts, and chocolate chunks, if you’re feeling extra indulgent. Gently fold this dry ingredient mixture into the wet batter until just combined; do not overmix.

Fill muffin cups almost up to the top and sprinkle with the reserved 1/2 cup hazelnuts. Place muffins in oven and immediately reduce the heat to 375°F. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of muffins comes out batter-free.

Cool muffins in pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Muffins will keep for 2 days at room temperature in an airtight container.