Chunky Pear and Applesauce Muffins

Applesauce muffins with fresh pear dabbled about make great afternoon snacks and quick grab-and-go breakfasts. 

Rustic home-style muffins tend to conjure up certain feelings or memories.

For me, Applesauce Muffins remind me of my mom.

Always watchful of what we ate, in the 80’s she whole-heartedly took on the trend of  “applesauce baking” subbing applesauce for most, or all, of the butter in baked goods like cookies, cakes, quick breads and muffins.

Some of these recipe were wildly successful. Others… not so much.

But if you ask me, simple homey muffins made with applesauce are the-best-of-the-best when it comes to applesauce baking.

Instead of using the applesauce as a minor building-block ingredient, I like to showcase it as the prominent flavor.

In this Applesauce Muffins recipe, I added a hefty amount of Musselman’s Applesauce, a touch of Chinese Five Spice Powder to enhance the fresh apple flavor, and small chunks of ripe pear to provide a silky quality to the muffins.

These zippy pear and Applesauce Muffins are so quick to whip up. I like to surprise my kids with them when they come home from school, or pack them as snacks for our weekend hikes.

The hearty apple goodness, chunks of fresh fruit, and little nip of spice make these Applesauce Muffins completely irresistible.

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Applesauce Muffins with Pear

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Applesauce muffins with fresh pear dabbled about make great afternoon snacks and quick grab-and-go breakfasts. 

Servings: 12 muffins

Ingredients

US Customary - Metric

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup Musselman's Apple Sauce any variety
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons Chinese five spice powder substitute apple pie spice or cinnamon
• 1 large ripe pear
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and fill a muffin tin with 12 paper liners. (You could also butter and flour the muffin tins and skip the paper liners.)
• Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until the butter is thoroughly mixed in, then add the apple sauce, eggs and vanilla. Mix until smooth. Add the salt, baking powder and five spice, then slowly add in the flour until just combined.
• Dice the pear into small 1/4-inch chunks and fold into the mixture. Then scoop the batter evenly into the prepared muffin tins. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with a little brown sugar and baking for 14-20 minutes until the tops are dome-shaped and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 3-5 minutes before removing from the muffin tin.

Nutrition

Serving: 1muffin, Calories: 179kcal, Carbohydrates: 31g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 37mg, Sodium: 207mg, Potassium: 138mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin A: 160IU, Vitamin C: 0.9mg, Calcium: 45mg, Iron: 1.5mg

Course: Breakfast, Muffins

Cuisine: American

Author: Sommer Collier

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