monday morning

I woke up yesterday thinking about the delicious sourdough prune and carrot muffins and coffee I was treated to at Suzanne and Rob's on Sunday morning. So I looked through my recipes and then online hoping to find one I could use as-is or alter. The following is a tinkered version of a Banana Walnut Muffin recipe from Cooks Illustrated. I switched out the walnuts for pecans, added some fibre, pears and blueberries and reduced the sugar to get the tender, nutty muffin with a light crumb I was hoping for. Just before they went into the oven I decided to push a few pieces of dark chocolate into half the muffins. Deluxe.

Banana Spelt Muffins with Pear, Blueberry and Chocolate

2 not-quite-ripe pears, chopped coarsely
3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 lemon, juiced
2 teaspoons organic sugar

3 cups spelt flour
1/2 cup oat bran
1/2 cup flax meal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
10 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 tablespoons unsalted butter , softened
2/3 cup organic sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup almond milk (or any milk)
1/2 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 3 small or 2 large)
3/4 cup broken pecans
1/8 - 1/4 lb dark chocolate pieces (optional)
Vegetable cooking spray or additional butter for muffin tins

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to lower middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine the pears, blueberries, lemon juice and sugar in a medium bowl and turn a few times to coat the fruit with the juice and sugar. This will get the natural fruit juices to release. In a separate medium bowl, mix flour, oat bran, flax meal, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt; set aside.

2. Beat olive oil, butter and sugar with electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and then add the mashed bananas. Beat in one-half of dry ingredients. Beat in one-third of the milk and yogurt or sour cream in turns. Beat in remaining dry ingredients in two batches, alternating with yogurt or sour cream and milk, until incorporated. Fold pear/blueberry mixture and pecans into finished batter.

3. Spray two, twelve-cup muffin tins with vegetable cooking spray or coat lightly with butter. Divide batter evenly among cups and, if you like, push a few pieces of chocolate into the centres. Bake until muffins are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Set on wire rack to cool slightly, about 5 minutes. Remove muffins from tin and serve warm.

With the addition of chocolate, and topped with créme fraiche or unsweetened, whipped cream, these could even make a dessert.