Spiced Pear Mini Muffins Recipe

Spiced Pear Mini Muffins are small but big on taste. The spices and granola pair perfectly.

There are people who like big muffins. What’s not to love about a warm, sweet crumbly muffin the size of Texas? I completely understand. I used to like my muffins double size too . . . then I had kids.

There is hardly anything more soul crushing than slaving over a recipe in the kitchen only to serve it to ungrateful little eaters who take one bite and dribble the rest under their chairs. For a while there, every single time I made a batch of muffins, I was cleaning up at least half of every muffin, crumbled to unrecognizable pieces, underneath the kitchen table after every serving.

Since I can’t trade in the rascally kids for better eating models, and I love muffins too much to stop baking them, I came up with a solution to the problem: mini muffins. These bite size morsels contain all the goodness of a jumbo muffin in just one bite! The kids will eat them without all the crumbles and I still get to enjoy a warm muffin from time to time. With mini muffins, everybody wins!

These particular spiced pear muffins are some of my favorites. The pears not only add a flavorful sweetness to the muffin, they almost melt in your mouth when the warm muffins come out of the oven. The granola on top gives a little extra crunch, and the spices pair perfectly with the fruit.

Since trading in the jumbo muffin pan more often than not for the mini muffin tin, I’ve discovered a couple of things about the smaller muffins. First, muffins are muffins, which is to say, they taste great no matter the size. Also, because they are mini, I get to have seconds (and sometimes thirds too), which may not actually be as much muffin as a jumbo muffin, but it feels delightfully indulgent!

Keep a batch of these mini muffins in the freezer and easily reheat them for breakfasts on the go, lunchbox treats, after school snacks, and a mid-afternoon pick-me-up for mom too!

Need more ways to use up a big pear harvest? Try Tracy's pear butter and Emily's Walkers Shortbread mini apple and pear crisps too.

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