Spiced Pear & Brown Butter Muffins
- Yield: 12 muffins
Radiating a warm aroma full of autumn spices, these muffins satisfy any midafternoon sweets craving. Serve them with a cup of giner tea for breakfast or turn them into cupcakes with a swirl of cane sugar buttercream.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons or 140 g) unsalted butter
- 1 cup (140 g) superfine brown rice flour
- 1/2 cup (50 g) almond flour
- 2 tablespoons tapioca starch
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 2 eggs, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (100 g) dark amber maple syrup
- 1/3 cup (60 g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped
- 2 medium-size ripe Bartlett pears
- 2 tablespoons chopped natural pistachios, for garnish
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- In a small saucepan, cook the butter over medium heat until it starts to bubble and the milk solids start to brown on the bottom of the pan. It will take about 5 minutes and will smell like roasting nuts. Remove the pan from the heat and transfer the brown butter to a clean bowl to cool.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the superfine brown rice flour, almond flour, tapioca starch, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cardamom.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, maple syrup, brown sugar, vanilla seeds, and brown butter. Add the we ingredients to the dry and mix until combined.
- Grate the pears using a box grater, skin and all. Fold the grated pear into the batter.
- Line a muffin pan with paper liners and, using an ice cream scoop, fill the liners with the batter about three-quarters of the way full. Sprinkle the tops with chopped pistachios.
- Bake the muffins for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer the muffins to a cooling rack and let them cool completely. They will keep in the refrigerator, tightly wrapped, for up to 3 days.
Source: Small Plates & Sweet Treats, 2012, p. 64.