Pear and Ginger Muffins

An essential part of autumn is smell. Walking into a home where you can smell pumpkin spice, or an apple pie baking is really what autumn is all about for me.
These muffins are definitely one way to bring these aromas into your home. The comforting pear scent will permeate your kitchen and taste buds alike with a sweet and slightly spicy scent, an appetizing autumn invitation.

I absolutely love pears; the ginger really intensifies the sweet pear flavor without overpowering it and the pears give the muffins a really luscious texture.
I've been eating these almost everyday for breakfast or as a snack; they even work perfectly when partnered with a good pungent cheese.

The pears I used were the first ones I bought this season from the green market. There are so many varieties of pears and honestly I love them all but I chose to use Bartlett pears this time, they're always very sweet.

Lovely pears at the Green market in Union square NY.

For more pictures from the market check out my Flickr.

Pear and Ginger Muffins: (adapted from Nigella Lawson's Nigella Express)
(makes 12)

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar (and more for sprinkling)
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2/3 cup sour cream (I used Greek yogurt)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups small diced pear (peeled and cored)

Pre-heat the oven to 400F.

In a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, white sugar, brown sugar and the ground ginger. Mix well to combine.

In another bowl whisk together the sour cream, oil, honey and eggs. Fold this in to the flour mixture.

Mix in the diced pear gently.

(Dice the pears right before you add them, or they will start to turn brown.)

Line a 12-bun muffin tin with muffin papers and fill each muffin case with the mixture evenly.

Sprinkle the top of each muffin with brown sugar.

Bake in the oven for 20 mins at 400F

When the muffins are golden and baked through, remove and place on a cooling rack.

These are lovely when eaten warm.

They smell amazing! I need a candle that smells just like this :)