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!