Hearty yet tender, these flavorful muffins are bursting with fresh cranberries, pears, and oatmeal. They get a zing of flavor from orange zest, and are topped with crunchy cinnamon streusel. I gilded the lily and drizzled a little orange glaze over the top. It makes them so pretty!
To be honest with you, I didn’t really expect to like these. In fact, I was kind of counting on that. (Stupid diet.) I’ve never been very fond of pears, and was worried that the cranberries would be too tart. Nope. Sweet, slightly tangy, and delightful. Nom nom.
What a sweet little breakfast these would be for Thanksgiving or Christmas morning.
The recipe makes 18 muffins. If you have extras, wrap them well and freeze them.
| Cranberry Pear Muffins | Print |
- STREUSEL TOPPING:
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup chopped nuts (I used toasted pecans)
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- MUFFINS:
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup chopped fresh cranberries (more if desired)
- 1 cup chopped pears, peeled and cored (1 large pear)
- zest of 1 large orange
- ½ cup milk
- 1 egg
- ⅓ cup oil (l use peanut or canola)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ICING (optional):
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- orange juice, cranberry juice, or water to thin to desired consistency
- 1 teaspoon meringue powder if desired for firmer icing
- STREUSEL: Combine all dry ingredients for streusel topping. Stir in melted butter and set aside.
- MUFFINS: Heat oven to 375 F. Put 18 paper liners in muffin pans.
- In small bowl, combine buttermilk and oats. Stir well and set mixture aside to soften while you chop the cranberries and pears and prepare the batter..
- In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk or sift.
- Add chopped cranberries, chopped pears, and orange zest. Toss with a large spoon.
- In a small bowl, combine milk, egg, oil, and vanilla. Beat well and combine with the buttermilk/oat mixture.
- Make a well in the dry ingredient and fruit mixture. Pour liquids in all at once. Fold gently, being careful not to over mix. If you see a few wisps of flour, that's just fine.
- Divide evenly between prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle with streusel topping.
- Bake 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the middle of a muffin. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes, then remove muffins to cool completely.
STREUSEL: Stir together all the dry streusel ingredients well, then stir in melted butter. Set aside.
MUFFINS: Add chopped cranberries to dry ingredients
. . . and chopped pears.
. . . and orange zest. Toss well.
Beat together milk, egg, oil, and vanilla. Stir in softened oat/buttermilk mixture.
Make a well in dry ingredients. Add liquids all at once. Fold in gently just until mostly combined.
Don’t over stir! Wisps of flour here and there are just fine.
Divide batter between 18 muffin cups and top with streusel. Bake!
Drizzle with icing if desired
Heading into the holiday season is always a thrill for me. Obsessive baking isn’t just acceptable, it’s practically mandatory.
Sweet!
Lorinda