Double Chocolate Maple Pear Muffins
These muffins offer a most pleasant munchiness if your pears are ripe, yet still firm--not super soft. Makes 12 muffins.
Servings: 12 muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- Rounded 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 5 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 5 tablespoons hot water
- ⅓ cup melted coconut oil or unsalted butter
- ⅔ cup maple syrup
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup less 2 tablespoons plain whole milk Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup diced fresh pear about ½-inch pieces, plus 12 thin slices for the tops, optional
- ½ cup chocolate chips plus ¼ cup for the tops
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray 12 muffin cups generously with cooking spray. To make sure the muffin tops release with ease, coat the top of the pan as well as the inside of the cups.
- Sift or whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon together in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
- In another bowl, whisk the cocoa powder and hot water into a smooth slurry. Add the oil or butter, maple syrup, eggs, yogurt, and vanilla, whisking until well blended.
- Pour the chocolate mixture into the dry ingredients, stirring gently with a spatula. When there is just one streak of flour left, gently mix in the chopped pears and the first ½ cup of chocolate chips.
- Divide the batter into the prepared muffin cups using a heaping #16 cookie scoop or 1/3 cup measure. On top, arrange a pear slice and sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup of chocolate chips.
- As you place the muffin tins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 375°F. (See note) Bake 14 to 16 minutes, until the tops of the muffins spring back when touched with a finger and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool at least 10 minutes, before removing from the muffin cups.
Notes
A muffin trick, meant to catch the risen batter at its peak, and rise with nice muffin tops, is to preheat the oven to 25 degrees warmer, and when you open the oven to slide in the muffin tin, dial it back down for baking.