These simple pear and honey muffins are made with wholewheat flour, mild spices and naturally sweet honey. Free from refined sugars, they’re a wholesome and tasty Autumn treat as well as a great way to make muffins healthier.
Summary
Prep: 10 minutes
Cooking: 20 minutes
Ages: Toddlers to Teens
Makes: 12 muffins
How to make pear and honey muffins?
To make pear and honey muffins you can use the classic method of first combining the wet ingredients, then combining the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and mixing the two together to make your batter.
In this recipe we have replaced the refined sugar entirely with honey so that the muffins are naturally sweetened.
When baking with honey, one thing to be careful of is the oven temperature. Honey burns at a much lower temperature than sugar. This means that if you set the oven to the usual temperature for baking, the muffin tops can end up browning too quickly, while the insides stay uncooked.
We’ve therefore set the oven to a lower temperature 160°C (320°F) so that it all bakes uniformly.
With the ingredients for these muffins we’ve combined the sweetness of the pears with some very mild spices and orange juice. That way they’re packed full of Autumn flavours!
Pear and honey muffins
Ingredients
- 2 medium ripe pears, peeled and diced (180 grams)
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice (½ orange)
Wet ingredients:
- ½ cup unsalted butter (4 ounces or 113 grams), melted
- ¾ cup honey (180 mls)
- 2 large eggs
- 4½ tablespoons Greek yogurt (70 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence (or 1 vanilla bean with the seeds scooped out)
Dry ingredients:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (120 grams)
- ½ cup wholewheat flour (60 grams)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Topping:
- turbinado sugar, sprinkled for topping
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 160°C (320°F) and line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper cupcake cases.
- Peel and finely chop your two pears. You should have about 180 grams of pear pieces.
- Take half an orange and squeeze out 2 tablespoons of orange juice over the pears. Set them aside.
- In a mixing bowl whisk together your melted butter and honey until it’s dissolved.
- Add in your eggs and whisk again. Finally add in the yogurt and vanilla essence. Your wet ingredients are ready.
- In a separate bowl measure out your dry ingredients. Mix your plain flour, wholewheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices – ground nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger.
- Finally mix the dry and wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Then pour in the chopped pear slices with orange juice and mix until they’re evenly distributed in the batter.
- Spoon the mixture into each of your cupcake liners until level with the top.
- Sprinkle on some turbinado sugar.
- Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 20-25 minutes or until a knife comes out clean and set out to cool on a wire rack.
Pear and honey muffins – your step-by-step guide:
Chop your pears
Peel and chop your pears into small pieces.
Place in a bowl and cover with 2 tablespoons of your freshly squeezed orange juice.
Preheat your oven to 160°C (320°F) and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
Mix the honey, butter and eggs
Start by whisking together the honey and melted butter until the honey is dissolved.
Add in the two eggs and beat until combined.
Add in the yogurt and vanilla essence
Complete your wet ingredients by adding in the natural yogurt and vanilla essence. Stir until combined.
Prepare your dry ingredients
In a separate bowl place the plain flour, wholewheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.
Stir to combine.
Mix it all together to make your batter
Combine the bowl of wet ingredients, with the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
Then pour in the chopped pear pieces covered in orange juice and gently stir until they’re evenly distributed.
Spoon the batter into your muffin cups
Carefully spoon the batter into a pre-lined muffin tray until level with the top.
Sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar.
Bake for 20 minutes
Bake on the middle shelf of a preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
Sprinkle again
If you would like you can sprinkle on a little more turbinado sugar at the end. Set them out on a wire rack to cool to room temperature.
These muffins are best enjoyed warm!
Enjoy your healthy pear and honey muffins as a warming snack
Pear and honey muffins
Ingredients
- 2 medium ripe pears peeled and diced (180 grams)
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice (½ orange)
Wet ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter (4 ounces or 113 grams), melted
- ¾ cup honey (180 mls)
- 2 large eggs
- 4½ tablespoons Greek or natural yogurt (70 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla essence (or 1 vanilla bean with the seeds scooped out)
Dry ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (120 grams)
- ½ cup wholewheat flour (60 grams)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Topping
- turbinado sugar sprinkled for topping
Instructions
-
Preheat your oven to 160°C (320°F) and line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper cupcake cases.
-
Peel and finely chop your two pears. You should have about 180 grams of pear pieces.
-
Take half an orange and squeeze out 2 tablespoons of orange juice over the pears. Set them aside.
-
In a mixing bowl whisk together your melted butter and honey until it’s dissolved.
-
Add in your eggs and whisk again. Finally add in the yogurt and vanilla essence. Your wet ingredients are ready.
-
In a separate bowl measure out your dry ingredients. Mix your plain flour, wholewheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and spices – ground nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger.
-
Finally mix the dry and wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Then pour in the chopped pear slices with orange juice and mix until they’re evenly distributed in the batter.
-
Spoon the mixture into each of your cupcake liners until level with the top.
-
Sprinkle on some turbinado sugar.
-
Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 20-25 minutes or until a knife comes out clean and set out to cool on a wire rack.
