Pear muffins are a typical dessert or breakfast muffin made with diced pears and other ingredients such as cinnamon. Many people bake this type of muffin for breakfast, and it is interchangeable with other muffin recipes such as banana, walnut, or blueberry. Pear muffins are typically baked in the fall, because along with apples, pears are ripe and plentiful in this season. This type of muffin is seen as mini muffins or full-sized muffins, and they go great with coffee or tea. Adding exotic spices or using alternatives in the recipes can make for a fun and interesting muffin that can be enjoyed by everyone, regardless of food allergies.
When cooking with pears, it is important to start with a fully ripened pear that has been refrigerated or previously frozen and thawed. In fact, overly ripened pears make for the best pear muffins, especially if they are a mushy consistency. This allows the pears to mix with the muffin batter and blend the flavor throughout the mix. Pears are one of autumn's greatest fruits and, when in season, can be found in most stores that sell fruit.
Many people buy pears in bulk while they are in season and freeze them for later use in pear muffins. This is because pears can only stay fresh in the refrigerator for five to seven days, but in the freezer, they can stay fresh for about ten months. The pears need to be cored and diced before freezing. For great results in baking pear muffins, it is best to heat to a boiling a mixture of about two to one of sugar and water and add the diced pears to this solution. Freezing the cooked pears in an airtight container in this solution will keep the pears fresh for a longer period.
Exotic spices such as cardamon and anise can change the flavor of pear muffins and add a special unique taste that can be found nowhere else. There are also some great recipes for those with food allergies who cannot have eggs or gluten. Egg-free or gluten-free pear muffin recipes can be found in recipe books as well as on the Internet, and they offer a nice alternative for people who could not otherwise enjoy this tasty treat. Pear muffins can be a healthy alternative to donuts or cookies if made with whole grain flour and by using a sugar substitute such as Splenda or Truvia.