Chai-Spiced Pear and Walnut Muffins

I came home to celebrate Christmas with two thoughts on my mind: pears and chai. I wanted to bake something that would taste sweet while still being somewhat wholesome (since I knew that I would be eating too many holiday treats this week anyway) for Christmas Eve morning. With so many tantalizing baked goods being passed around during the holiday season, I was overwhelmed by what I wanted to make: cookies? cake? bread? cupcakes? scones? Instead of carefully planning my recipe ahead of time, I just started dumping dry ingredients into one bowl and wet ingredients into another (under normal circumstances, this would turn into one big baking fiasco). By the time everything was mixed together, I realized that I had made the perfect dough for muffins...mini muffins to be exact.

Although I had made and taste-tested these little bites of goodness the night before, they were perfect on the morning of Christmas Eve. I knew I didn't want a heavy breakfast, so I had two (okay, maybe three) of these mini muffins so that I wouldn't be famished before my family's Christmas dinner that afternoon.

I started the muffin-making process by adding three peeled and diced pears to a sauce pan, adding about 2 tablespoons of agave nectar and cooking the mixture on medium heat for about 25-30 minutes. My goal was to make a pear sauce (think applesauce) to act as moisture in the muffins, while also adding that subtle pear flavor. After cooking the pears until they were very soft, I transferred them to a bowl and mashed the chunks with a fork. If the mixture appears too dry while cooking, feel free to add a half of a cup of water to the pan. The pears will become a slightly golden color, but should not brown.

I will post the recipe I created below, but first I must show you some exciting things...

On the left you will see the Henkel family Christmas tree (props to my mom for the gorgeous decorations!). On the right are two new cookbooks-- Sticky Fingers' Sweets, a gift from one of my stellar roommates and The Sprouted Kitchen, a gift from my brother and sister-in-law-- and finally, a ridiculously adorable half apron from my OTHER fantastic roommate! Do you think my friends and family know I like to cook? I cannot wait to get my hands on those new recipes while also looking kitchen-chic. 

And now for the recipe...

Ingredients (Makes 24 mini muffins):

3 medium-sized pears

2 Tablespoons agave nectar

6 ounces Greek yogurt

5 Tablespoons cold Earth Balance

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup cane sugar

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup cake flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cardamom

1/4 teaspoon ginger 

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Begin by making the pear sauce I explained above. While the pears are cooking, you will have plenty of time to mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl: both flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger. If you have some chai mix that you would rather use, then feel free to omit the spices. Once the pear sauce has been made and cooled, pour the sauce into a large bowl, add the Greek yogurt and vanilla, and mix until even. Then, slowly add in the flour mixture. Do not be afraid of over-stirring. Next, take the cold Earth Balance, chop it into pieces, and add it to the bowl. I used my hands to mix the dough from here. I don't know why exactly, I just felt that I wanted to mix in the Earth Balance without completely melting it. This technique is used sometimes to make scones. Then add the walnuts.

Once the ingredients are fully mixed, use a spoon to divide the batter evenly into a greased mini muffin pan and cook for about 9-10 minutes, checking to make sure that the tops of the muffins have become a nice golden brown color. Enjoy with a steaming cup of coffee or tea.

Happy Holidays to all of my readers! I hope you are enjoying the season and I hope these muffins bring you warmth. :)