Pear Ginger Muffins with Crumb Topping and Vanilla Glaze
I enjoy making muffins nearly any time of the year, but during these cold and frosty November mornings, they’re even more welcome than usual. Especially these, with their sweet pear and warm ginger flavors, made even better with a buttery crumb topping and vanilla glaze.
Ripe and golden Bosc pears, ready for baking
These muffins take a little bit more work than I normally care to do, with the crumb topping and the glaze, but once in a while, it’s worth it to go to the trouble to make something extra special. And, of course, they go well with a hot cup of coffee.
Pear Ginger Muffins with Crumb Topping and Vanilla Glaze
Makes 12-14 muffins
What You Need:
For the Muffins:
½ c. melted butter
½ c. sugar
½ c. brown sugar
2 eggs
½ c. sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
¼ c. milk (whole if you have it, but any kind will do)
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. ground ginger
½ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
2 ripe pears, peeled and chopped
For the Crumb Topping:
1/3 c. brown sugar
¾ c. all-purpose flour
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ c. melted butter
For the Glaze:
1 c. confectioner’s sugar
½ tsp. vanilla
2-4 tsp. milk
What You Do:
Heat oven to 400°F and line 12-14 muffin cups with a paper liner or grease thoroughly.
Prepare the crumb topping. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Pour in the melted butter and mix with a fork until you get uneven crumbs that range from a damp sand looking mixture to the size of small peas. Set crumb topping aside while you prepare the muffin batter.
In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugars, eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and milk. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir gently until you have a mixture that is mostly combined but still lumpy. Fold in the chopped pears and fill the muffin tins to the top of each liner. Liberally sprinkle the crumb topping over the muffins and press in gently to make sure it adheres to the muffin batter. Cover the muffin batter well, so that as the muffin expands while baking, the top will still be covered with the crumbs. Wipe excess crumbs off the pan before baking so they don’t burn, leaving you with a frustrating mess to clean.
Bake for 17-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean. Turn out onto a cooling rack immediately and let cool.
While the muffins are cooling, mix up the glaze. Stir together the confectioners’ sugar, vanilla, and 2 tsp. of milk, adding more milk if needed. Stir until all of the sugar lumps melt away and you have a nice, smooth glaze.
When the muffins have cooled almost to room temperature, drizzle the glaze back and forth over the tops of the muffins and serve. Muffins are best eaten the day they are made, but will keep in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
Pear ginger muffins with crumb topping and vanilla glaze
