Fall Pear Muffin with Cinnamon Oat Streusel

This morning was chilly...and for me to say that, it was cold.  In fact, I woke up at 2:30 a.m. and even turned the heat on for a bit.  So, baking this morning I was looking for those fall-flavors that would fit the weather.

Pears, like pumpkins and apples, are definitely a fruit we see in the markets and farm stands.  In fact, my best friend had so many pears this year in her orchard that she was canning for days!  It's thought that pears originated in Caucasus and spread to Europe and Asia where they were cultivated more than 4000 years ago. Both the Greeks and Romans valued the fruit for its flavor and medicinal properties.

Raw pears are 84% water, 15% carbohydrates and contains negligible protein and fat.  It has about 57 calories and is a good source of dietary fiber.  They are consumed fresh, canned as juice and dried, of course, jams and jellies, including butter and cider.

Fall Pear Muffin with Cinnamon Oat Streusel
Batter:
1 large egg
4 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup firmly packed browned sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 large Bosc pear, peeled and grated
3/4 cup Oat Flour
1 cup King Arthur All-purpose Flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

Oat Topping:
1/2 cup Old Fashioned rolled oats (not instant or quick-cooking)
1/3 cup King Arthur all-purpose flour
6 T firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
4 T unsalted butter, softened and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Preheat oven to 375F-degrees.  Spray a 12-cup muffin pan or line with paper cups.  Make the topping

Mix all the ingredients together and use a pastry cutter to cut the butter in until it is chunky and only a few pea-size pieces of butter are visible.

Set aside.  Make the batter.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, melted butter.  Add the milk, sour cream, brown sugar, and vanilla whisk into combined.  Then stir in the grated pear.

(You can make your own oat flour by pulsing Old-Fashioned Oats in a food processor.)

Add the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and fold together into the batter.  Be careful not to overtax.

Divide the batter equally among the prepared muffin wells.  Mound with equal amounts of streusel on top.

Baking 18 to 20 minutes for standard muffins or 25 to 30 minutes for jumbo size muffins.

Remove the pan from the oven and cool about 5 minutes.  Carefully remove the muffins from the pan and transfer to a rack to cool a little more.  I enjoyed my warm with my favorite cup of Harney & Sons tea. Enjoy!

My flowers are still beautiful with the days warm with the nights very cool!

Autumn Pear~Cranberry Pie

A few years ago, I had a fetish for collecting pears to the point of one Christmas I made over fifty in paper mache' to decorate our tree (they're packed away!)  I even baked gingerbread pears, along with some partridges, and placed them on this beautiful platter my daughters gave me for the holidays.

Today, I was having a yearning for something pear and a pie was my choice--actually, my hubby's who loves pie, even better than cake.

It's another one of those fall fruits that often takes second place behind apple and pumpkin, but I think it deserves it's rightful place, right along side. My grandson, Ari agrees;

from the time Ari was big enough to eat pears, it's been one of his favorites.  Here he is at almost 8 months...

...and enjoying one as a snack with the last hike he took with his mama, April 2010.

When I joined him and his dad for apple picking a few years ago, Ari headed right for the pear tree! He's definitely as much a pear lover as I am:-D

Perfect Pie Dough
4 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1 tsp. granulated sugar
1 3/4 cup shortening
1/2 ice cold water
1 large egg
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
In a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, first mix all the dry ingredients.  Then, add the shortening, while the mixer is running, a tablespoon at a time.  Finally, mix all the wet ingredients together in a 2 cup measure and again, while the mixer is running add them slowly.

 Transfer all the dough to a lightly floured board and knead until smooth.

 Shape into a log and cut in half, then half again.

Flatten each one to a disk and wrap in plastic wrap.  Place in the refrigerator to chill several hours, but the best thing about this dough (besides no matter how many times you roll it out, it remains so flakey!) it freezes beautifully for up to 6 months.

You can make up pie dough now and have plenty on hand for Thanksgiving and the holidays.

Autumn Pear~Cranberry Pie
8-10 pears (I used a mixture of Bartlett and Bosc)
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup Pie Filling Enhancer
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 tsp. ground cardamon
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

Peel, core and slice pears.  

This is my favorite Pear Slicer I got free by sending in a sales receipt a few years ago to the National Pear Organization.

 Place in a large bowl. Add the remaining ingredients (you can substitute the Pie Filling Enhancer for 3 Tablespoons of cornstarch (cornflour). Mix gently with a spatula.

Preheat oven to 400F-degrees.  Roll out one of the disks of dough and place in a 9-inch pan.  Flute edges if desired, then add the filling.  In lieu of a top crust, I cut out leaves and a pear to top the fruit with.  I also sprinkled some green sugar on top, but honestly, it looks a little weird and I think next time, I'll stick to my usual plain sugar:-D

My latest gadget...wish I had thought of it.  The perfect under the pie shield.  The center keeps the pie plate elevated so heat is distributed evenly...and it catches the spills of all your fruit pies!

Place in the oven and cook for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 375F-degrees and continue baking 35 to 40 minutes more, covering the edges with a shield if they're browning too quickly.

Bubbling juices and the intoxicating aroma of vanilla and pear, made it hard to wait for it to cool completely.  Now, if I just had some vanilla ice cream--oh well, I'll savor the simple enjoyment of warm pie on this cool night. Enjoy!

Ginger~Pear Scones

The calendar may still say it's Fall, but if you go by the cold temperatures, early snowfalls, and frosty mornings, you'd swear we're already into Winter.  I know that's what I'm feeling as a icy rain falls this morning...not to mention my next-door neighbor has already lit up their house with Christmas lights-LOL!

Also, you may have noticed the changes of fruits in your local markets.  Apples, cranberries, and pears are bountiful, replacing the stone fruits, and  since I like to use what is local, I turned to pears to create a warm scone for my breakfast.  The cultivation of pears in cool temperature climates may date back to prehistoric times, although earliest notes of the use of pears is found in early Roman "cookbooks," where it was stewed with herbs for meals.  Our present day pear is thought to have originated in Western China, in the foothills of Tian Shan and spread to the north and south along that mountain range.  What we know as the Asian Pear is often confused with apples, but one bite will tell the difference.  This morning, I had a ripened Bartlett, but a Bosc or even Asian Pear would have been just as delightful.

Ginger~Pear Scones
4 cups (+more for kneading) King Arthur all-purpose flour
1 T + 1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. Kosher salt
2 tsp. ground Ginger
1 tsp. Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 cup brown sugar (light or dark), packed
2/3 cup (10 1/3 T) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

3 T Molasses
1/3 cup Ginger Mini Chips (or diced candied ginger)
1 cup + 1 T Half & Half
1 large egg
1 pear, peeled, cored, and cut in 1/2-inch pieces

Preheat oven to 375F-degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a stand mixer, using a paddle attachment, combine 3 1/2 cups of flour and the next seven dry ingredients.  Add the butter "cubes" and mix on low speed to incorporate.  The mixture will still have some same pieces of butter, but be mostly mixed to a rough state.
Add the molasses and ginger chips and mix about 1 minute to incorporate.  Whisk together the egg into the measurement of the half & half and with the mixer running, slowly pour the egg/milk into the dry ingredients, reserving about 2 Tablespoons of it for brushing the tops of the scones before baking.

Stir 1/2 cup flour into the diced pears.  Use a spatula or dough blade to incorporate into the scone mixture.

Place dough on a floured board and lightly knead until smooth--do not overwork the dough.

Roll dough out to about a 10-inch circle, 3/4 to 1-inch thick.

Use a 4-inch scalloped cutter to cut the dough.  Place on the parchment lined baking sheet.  I was able to get 9, but if you like them "fatter" you may only get 8.

Brush tops with the reserved egg/half & half mixture, then, sprinkle with Sparkling Sugar Crystals.

Bake in preheated oven 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

There's nothing like a warm scone with a cup or tea, coffee or cocoa to take the chill off.  I know, from experience, that just baking warms the heart and these scones warm the stomach.  I had mine with some butter and my Cherry-Cranberry Jam.

Take time during this busy holiday season (that has been pushed upon us) to get back to the memories that warm your heart. Enjoy!


 

Fall Fruit Galette

One thing (among many) that amazed me about my mother was her ability to whip up desserts at a moments notice.  As a child, I watched pertinaciously as she scooped up flour and sugar from the bins, measured out leavening agents in the palm of her hand, and stirred her magic into mouth-watering pies and cakes that would keep us all anticipating the after-dinner dessert.

I realize for most of us, spur of the moment desserts come in the form of a box mix or frozen and  prepackaged.   However, I've tried to develop quick techniques and recipes that keep me true to my roots and make sure not to have a "thunder bolt" coming my way from Mom. LOL!  Pie crust that is made in bulk and can be frozen, up to six months, and cakes that can be baked ahead of time, wrapped well in plastic wrap and sealed, then frozen until you need them.

Tonight, I made a galette filled with fall fruits--apple, pear and cranberry.  A galette is a French term for a round, flat, free-formed cake or tart; in this case, mine were tarts.  Having pie crust in the freezer made it all possible and in less than 20 minutes, these cute little galettes were in the oven baking and a wonderful aroma filled our home.

Fall Fruit Galette
2 medium apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks about 1 1/2-inches
1 Bosc or Anjou Pear, cored and cut into chunks the same size
1/3 cup dried or fresh cranberries
2 T unsalted butter
2 T Boiled Apple Cider*
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

*You could make your own boiled apple cider by simmering a cup of apple cider for 20-30 minutes until the mixture is thickened and syrupy.

In a medium sauce pan, melt butter and blend in brown sugar and Boiled Apple Cider.  Spoon fruit into the mixture and cooked about 10 minutes on medium.  The fruit will release more liquid, but it will be absorbed at the end of cooking.  Remove and let cool while you roll out the pie crust.

One disk of Perfect Pie Dough 
Preheat oven to 400F-degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Roll out pie dough and use a 6-inch saucer as a pattern to cut a round.

For a little extra flavor, I spooned 1-teaspoon of Cranberry~Vanilla Pear Jam I had preserved in September. You could use a teaspoon of Apple Butter, Raspberry Jam, or even Lemon or Orange Marmalade instead.

Spoon some of the apple/pear/cranberry mixture on top, then, bring up the sides and pinch around the filling.

Brush the outside of the dough with a beaten egg.  Finally, add a sprinkling of Sugar Crystals over the top.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the pie dough is golden brown and the filling is bubbly.  


I have a friend, who would love a scoop of French Vanilla Ice Cream on top, but since I didn't have any ice cream, I whisked up some Cardamon Whipped Cream.  


Cardamon Whipped Cream:
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 tsp. ground cardamon
1 T confectioners' sugar


In a medium bowl, using a hand mixer, or a copper bowl with a whisk, beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form.  Add the ground cardamon and confectioners' sugar and continue to whisk until cream holds its shape.

The galette was a perfect finish to our dinner and even though it's dark and chilly outside, my kitchen is warm and inviting...just like Mom's. Enjoy!