This recipe for Pear Crunch Muffins originates from my mom’s recipe file. I made some adjustments so that my whole family can eat them. They are tender, soft, bursting with pieces of pear, and the streusel topping adds a next level of perfection. Muffins without a little something on top are just a tad boring, am I right?

Teacher Appreciation Week is just around the corner. I am helping provide breakfast for the staff at our school one morning. I’ll be making several pans of cinnamon rolls (still deciding on which recipe to use). There are a few staff members that are “gluten-free” so I’ll be making these Gluten Free Pear Crunch Muffins for those folks. Pretty sure they won’t be too distraught about missing out on cinnamon rolls when they taste these little bites of heaven.

Ingredients

Gluten free flour – I use Bob’s Red Mill, the one with the blue label. I haven’t tried other brands for this recipe, but make sure you use one with xanthan gum (it’s a stabilizer that prevents ingredients from separating and it works as a thickening agent)
The usual suspects – baking powder, salt, cinnamon, white and brown sugars, eggs, and milk
Butter – for the batter you want softened butter so it can easily combine with the sugar
Pear – I think fresh pear works the best. I have also used canned pear though. Canned pear is typically wetter so you may need to add more flour to your chopped pear to compensate. Chop the pear into small pieces and toss with about 2 tablespoons of gf flour. No need to peel the fresh pear.

Method

Start by preheating your oven (375 for these muffins). Grease your muffin pan with cooking spray.
Make the streusel topping. Mix the gf flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. Add the 2 Tablespoons of butter and cut it in with a pastry cutter (or use two knives pulling against each other). It’s done when it is crumbly and the butter is about the size of peas. Set aside.
Next, mix your dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Whisk the gluten free flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt together. Set aside.
Get your softened butter and white sugar started creaming together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the two eggs, one at a time. You will need to stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl several times to get the eggs fully incorporated.
While the eggs are mixing with the butter/sugar, dice your pear and toss with a few tablespoons of gf flour in a small bowl.
Once eggs are fully mixed in with the other wet ingredients, it’s time to add everything together. Start by adding some of the reserved dry ingredients (about 1/2 cup). Then add some of the milk. Alternate between the dry ingredients and milk, ending with the dry ingredients. Don’t over mix.
Gently fold in the prepared pears.
Scoop evenly into prepared muffin pan and top each with about a tablespoon of streusel topping.
Finally, slide into the oven and bake until lightly browned, about 20 minutes. Let cool in pan for about 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Serve warm.

Combine GF flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon for streusel