Whole Wheat Yogurt Pear Muffins

Whoa, that’s a mouthful of a title, but these muffins are mouthfuls of yum. I enjoy substituting pears for many recipes that call for apples. Autumn is the perfect time to play with pears. There are so many ripe, delicious varieties. These muffins are easy to make, and are perfect for breakfast, brunch, or a non terrible snack. They’re little, unlike many gargantuan store bought muffins that are let’s be real, akin to eating half a cake. One of these is truly harmless. The yogurt keeps them moist in a beneficial way, as opposed to using more oil. Swapping out some white flour for whole wheat lends a hearty flavor and cleaner composition. I usually find making muffins a bit annoying; the scooping and scraping of the dough at least a dozen times. But this didn’t feel that way to me. I kept the measurement at a dozen and the batter slid effortlessly into the muffin tin. If only the muffins didn’t slide so easily into my mouth. Yeah, you saw that coming, it’s fine.

Ingredients:

Batter-

3/4 cup lightly packed grown sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

1 egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 cup whole wheat flour

2/3 cup all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup non fat yogurt

2 pears

Topping-

1 TBS oil

2 TBS brown sugar

2 TBS whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Directions:

Mix topping ingredients and set aside. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line the muffin tin with liners or spray with cooking spray. You can bake with the liners then remove before serving, since paper liners can look tacky. In a large bowl combine the brown sugar, oil, egg and vanilla. Mix well.

In another bowl combine the other dry ingredients. Add to the egg mixture with the yogurt. Just stir together. Over mixing will result in dense muffins. We want these babies light! Stir in the chopped pears. Fill each space two thirds full, then sprinkle a little topping on each.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown and the muffins spring up when touched. Yields 12. Freeze in an airtight container for up to two months.