Cooking Done Light

These muffins are very filling and will make a great addition to your “muffin menu”. You really don’t see very many pear recipes now-a-days, which is a shame, because they are a wonderfully delicious, sweet, “nutritional powerhouse” of a fruit! These moist, dense muffins are especially good served warm – so if you are going to freeze them to have later in the week, I would suggest warming them slightly in the microwave or toaster oven first.

4 large ripe pears

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 tablespoon canola or olive oil

2 whole eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup raisins

1 cup walnuts (chopped after measuring)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and spray a 6 cup jumbo (or 12 cup standard) muffin tin with cooking spray.

Peel, core, and dice the pears and then place them in a large bowl with the sugar and set aside.

Combine the flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt and stir well to combine.

Add the applesauce, oil, egg, and vanilla to the bowl with the pear/sugar mixture and stir together to mix well, then add in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Fold in the raisins and walnuts, and then divide the batter evenly between the muffin cups. Bake for 25-30 minutes (or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.)

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Make 6 jumbo (or 12 standard) muffins. Per jumbo muffin: 247 calories, 3 g total fat, less than 1 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 27 g carbohydrates, 8 g fiber, 6 g added sugar, 7 g protein, 197 mg sodium, 19 mg cholesterol