Thursday, October 21, 2010

Pear Almond Muffins

pear-almondmuffins

I don't know if it's just me, but I rarely eat pears. I never find them perfectly ripe - they're either hard and tasteless, or mushy and grainy. It seems that they have a very short "perfect period", and I can (almost) never time it. And I don't like throwing things away. So I have to come up with decent ways to use up pears. (This is also a problem with bananas, but I have many more ideas for that.)

So, these pears - a little on the unripe side by the way - were made into muffins, along loads of almonds and some white chocolate. Delicious combination, and I urge you to try it! The freeze very well, and they can even be eaten directly from frozen - my husband does.

Pear Almond Muffins
(printable recipe)
12 small and 12 regular-sized muffins

200 g butter
200 g sugar
200 g almonds (mine happened to be blanched, but yours don't have to be)
100 g white chocolate, chopped
4 eggs
250 ml flour (1 cup)
2 tsp baking powder
300 g pears, peeled and finely diced

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Grind the almonds in an almond grinder if you have it, or process very finely in a food processor. Stir into the butter mixture, along with the white chocolate. Add the eggs, one at a time, and stir to combine well. Add the flour and baking powder, and finally the pears.

Dollop into muffin cases, and bake at 200°C for 10 (small) - 15 minutes (regular-sized).

Recipe in Swedish:
Päronmuffins med mandel

11 comments:

Ája Voráčková said...

I don't think it is just you - I have the same problem with pears :))

Jessica said...

Kanelbullar kan också ätas direkt från frysen - mycket mycket djupfrusna - allt enl. sambo ;).

David T. Macknet said...

I think you're in the wrong part of the world to get decent pears, is all.

Muffins look quite tasty, though!

Amorphous Media Art / Off The Cuff said...

Hej... vet inte riktigt hur jag hittade din blog, men jag startade också en matsida några månader sen på Blogspot. Dessutom är jag från Uppsala ursprungligen men min familj flyttade till USA 1984, så jag försöker alltid laga en blandning av svensk mat, plus allt annat som jag gillar. Tänkte bara följa med din blog, och du kan gärna kolla mina försöksmåltider också på Offthecuffcooking.blogspot.com ...

Anne said...

David, really? Apples and pears are two of few fruits grown locally, so I'd think they'd be ok... If not Swedish, at least usually European.

Offthecuff - nice, I'll check it out!

MATBLOGGEN said...

Så gott det ser ut :)

Trevlig helg !

/Jenny

patrice said...

Hej Anne. This summer thanks to a local chef I finally learned how to find the perfect pear. Lightly push down along the stem; if the flesh has a soft give to it, the pear is ripe and ready to eat. If the flesh around the stem is hard (or too soft) the pear is not good for eating. I've been delighted at how this works, and have indulged in more tasty pears this autumn than ever before.

Anne said...

Patrice, what excellent advice!! :)

curlingmamman said...

Såg dom på Angelas blogg,var tvungen att se hur man gör dom:)

Brittany said...

Hi, Anne!

Patrice is right! We use a simple tool when ripening pears: Check the Neck! If your pear is still hard around the stem, simply leave it on the counter or in a brown paper bag for a few days, and it will ripen to sweet and juicy perfection!

You can find more tips and tricks on our website at www.usapears.org.

happy baking!
your friends at USA Pears

rose said...

The secret to enjoying pears is poaching them. Peel, slice or chop the pears. Cover with water (or wine), lemon juice, vanilla, sugar. Simmer until soft. If you like, you can continue cooking to evaporate the liquid and slightly carmelize the pears. Once poached, they chill or freeze well, and can be used in baked cakes, on yogurt, with custard, etc. This method also works well in a crock pot...plus the cooking makes the house smell great!