Pumpkin pear muffins are a fall treat! Packed with sauteed spiced pears, crunchy almonds, and wholesome oats. Plus it’s a vegan-friendly recipe.
I just can’t resist these cute, sweet mini cakes, with perfectly domed tops that I can’t get enough of. Now that all of those fall spices are on sale at the market, I couldn’t help but make a freshly baked batch of vegan pumpkin pear almond muffins right at home. Have you done much vegan baking or want to learn more? Read on my friends!
Now that all of those fall spices are on sale at the market, I couldn’t help but make a freshly baked batch of vegan pumpkin pear almond muffins right at home. Have you done much vegan baking or want to learn more? Read on my friends!
When I was a kid baking with Betty Crocker cake mixes, I would have never guessed that I’d be making muffins from scratch that were VEGAN. It was a very unfamiliar category for me, but now it’s a very popular lifestyle choice that has taken the food industry by storm. Since I’ve matured and somehow turned into a geeky scientist, I’m curious when it comes to vegan recipes especially when they surprise me and turn out awesome.
I live for these edible fun experiments, and I promise you the results are delicious! Since I’ve “matured” and somehow turned into a geeky scientist, I’m curious when it comes to vegan recipes especially when they surprise me and turn out awesome. I live for these edible fun experiments, and I promise you the results are delicious!
To make these muffins extra tasty it all starts with pumpkin puree (tis the season, right?), almonds, fresh Bartlet pears, and old-fashioned oats. Apples seem always to be the star during the holidays, but my heart goes out to those gorgeous, delicious pears, so many varieties that are so different and delicious!
Okay, so what makes these muffins vegan? I’ve taken out all of the dairy products, typically butter and milk as well as the eggs. Vegan diets usually exclude anything that comes from an animal (meat, dairy, eggs) and even honey. What I’ve substituted instead is coconut milk for butter, almond milk for cow’s milk and I made ground flaxseed eggs to sub for the chicken eggs.
Even with all of those ingredient changes, the muffins came out tender, moist, with just a hint of sweetness. What’s even cooler is that it’s safe to taste the unbaked dough before eating to see if the spices are just right. No guilty feelings for licking your fingers!
I decided to make these muffins two ways, with all-purpose flour and with gluten-free flour. Because there is milk powder in this particular gluten-free flour blend, this would make the muffins NOT vegan. However, there may be other brands that provide dairy-free mixes. It’s still an excellent option for people who are sensitive to gluten, and I wanted to see if I could achieve a nice pastry alternative all in one mighty muffin. If you are sensitive to gluten, make sure to get gluten-free oats as well for this recipe!
I enjoyed how moist the muffins were both ways, and I think the spiced sauteed pears helped to keep the muffins from getting dried out. I did notice that these muffins were denser and spongy versus crumbly. Probably because there was not very much fat in the muffin batter and no egg proteins. The muffins stuck to the liner a bit so I would try using cooking spray in the muffin tin and remove the liner next time.
Check out all of the awesomeness going on inside those vegan muffins! Each bite is filled with nuts, oats, and fresh pear. They are best enjoyed warm out of the oven, a wonderful healthier breakfast treat or afternoon snack. We gobbled up a couple each, they were hard to resist, especially with the spiced pumpkin batter, yum!
What is a “Flax Egg”?
A flax egg replacer is a combination of flaxseed meal (must be ground) plus water. It’s used to substitute a chicken egg in baking or for savory applications like breading meat. The recipe for 1 egg is 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed plus 3 tablespoons water, stirred together and allowed to sit for at least 5 minutes. You’ll notice the texture of the mixture becoming thicker and slimy like egg whites. This is a gel-forming from mucilaginous material in the flax hull with liquid, this is a hydrocolloid forming within minutes. The gel helps to build structure, emulsify, yet has low foaming ability since no proteins are present. You would then use them in a recipe the same way you would use eggs. They work best for quickbreads like these muffins, pancakes, brownies, and cookies. (Source: Veganbaking.net)
Pumpkin Pear Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon flax egg, (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed plus 3 tablespoons water)
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil, or non-dairy butter
- 2 bartlett pears, peeled, cored and diced into ¼-inch cubes (about 2 cups)
- 1 ¼ teaspoons cinnamon, ground, divided
- ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¾ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 cup almond milk, unsweetened
- ½ cup dark brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour, or gluten-free flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅓ cup old fashioned oats, plus more for topping
- ⅓ cup almonds, sliced, plus more for topping
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 375°F. Line a muffin tin with paper liners or grease tin with baking spray.
- In a large bowl, add flaxseed and water to make the flax egg. Stir and set aside.
- Heat coconut oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add pears and ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, sauté for 7 minutes or until tender but not mushy, set aside to cool.
- Add pumpkin puree, almond milk, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla extract to the flax egg. Stir to combine. Carefully place flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and nutmeg into a sifter and sift over the wet ingredients and stir until just combined, do not overmix.
- Add cooked pears, oats, and almonds, lightly stir until just combined. Spoon about ⅓ cup of batter into each muffin tin or until each liner is filled to the top (they will not overflow when baked).
- Bake for 22-25 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then remove and allow to cool completely on a wire rack.
Nutrition Facts
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet. All nutritional information is based on estimated third-party calculations. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.
Andreea says
Pumpkin and pear! What an amazing combination! These muffins sound and look delicious!!! Great post, Snoop Dogg for the win!
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you Andreea! Fist bump for liking Snoop!
Beth @ Eat Within Your Means says
Totally had the Wet & Wild makeup drawer. Did you ever heat up the lipliner with a match so it would go on more smoothly? The stuff we did. I was the queen of the bird’s nest bangs. I teased them mercilessly every morning. Ok, back to the muffins. These look AWESOME!!! I can’t wait to make them, but probably with apple because I love them so very much. 🙂
Jessica Gavin says
I didn’t try that, but it would have been a good idea! Birds nest for sure 🙂 I”m loving honeycrisp apples right now Beth!
Trish says
Oh my gosh….. SNOOP DOGG! Remember that trend where it was popular to wear dark lipliner and pale lipstick? With really high buns and scrunchies? OMG! Wow, takes me back. You know, pears are one my fave Fall treats. Jared hates them, so I get to eat ALL of them from our CSA bin! YAY! These muffins are gorgeous, and sound delicious!
Jessica Gavin says
YES Trish! I totally went through that fashion phase, Wet n’ wild was definitely my go to beauty line haha. I actually used to make my own scrunchies, BOOM 🙂 I guess you could use apples instead of pears, but then you would have to share, hehe. Thank you!