Ginger Pear Muffins (nutrient-dense)

Here in the desert southwest, local pear and apple season has arrived.  I always seem to be taken a little off-guard when the first apples and pears start arriving at our natural foods co-op and farmer's market, as it is still hot and definitely still summertime here. But with our long growing season, these traditional fruits-of-Fall are starting to attain ripeness already.

I brought home a small haul of beautiful green Bartlett and Comte pears the week before last. Unlike apples and peaches, pears are picked when green and then ripen to full sweetness and softness off the tree. So the pears I bought were still bright green and hard. By Saturday, after about nine days on the counter, the pears were soft and the skin was turning a nice yellow-green color. It was time for baking.

One of my absolute favorite flavor combinations is Ginger and Pear. Those two flavors are good on their own, but when combined they are fantastic. This recipe for Ginger Pear Muffins uses my currently-preferred combination of Einkorn flour, coconut flour, and ground crispy nuts.  (For a grain-free ginger pear muffin recipe, click here.) These muffins are so very good that they won't stay around long.

Ginger Pear Muffins

• 1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup organic einkorn flour 
• 1/3 cup organic coconut flour
• 1/4 cup ground crispy pecans or almonds (or substitute almond meal)
• 1/2 tsp celtic sea salt 
• 1 tsp dried ground ginger (or 1 Tb minced fresh ginger)
• 1 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 6 Tb grassfed butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup of sucanat (or use a combination of sucanat and sugar for a lighter flavor)
• 3 eggs, preferably from pastured hens
• 1/4 cup organic sour cream, preferably from pastured cows
• 1&1/4 cup diced ripe pears (they don't need to be peeled)

1. Line a muffin tin with paper cups.  (I prefer If You Care Unbleached Baking Cups because the muffins do not stick to the sides of the cups.)
2. Combine the einkorn, coconut flour, ground nuts, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and ginger in a medium bowl. Whisk it all together to break up any lumps.  
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
4. Combine the butter, sucanat and sugar in a large bowl (a Kitchen-Aid stand mixer works great for this recipe). Cream together for a couple minutes until the mixture turns slightly lighter in color.
5. In the meantime, crack the eggs into a small bowl. (I find that a Pyrex glass measuring cup works great for this because the pour spout makes it easy to add these ingredients to the mixer while it is running.) Do NOT mix up the eggs at this point.
6. Once the butter and sucanat/sugar have become well-mixed, mix in the eggs one-at-a-time.  With my stand-mixer, I can just pour in each egg while the mixer is still running.  Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice to get everything incorporated well. (It is okay if the mixture looks a bit curdled during this step.)
7. Add the sour cream to the wet mixture and mix it in well.
8. Add the dry ingredients a bit at a time.  Because the Einkorn flour does contain gluten, make sure not to overmix or the muffins will be tough.  The batter will become rather thick, but don't worry about it.
9. Stir or mix in the pears.
10. Use a 3-Tb scoop or large spoon to scoop the batter into the muffin cups.
11. Bake the muffins at 350 degrees F for 23-27 minutes, until they are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out dry.
12. Remove from the oven and allow to cool a bit before serving.

What is your favorite pear recipe?

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