Pear and cranberry muffins with cinnamon pecan topping

Some people change their names, then something goes wrong along the way and they have to change them back to what they were before. It happens.

So you can continue to call me “The Apple Crazy Lady” even though I’ve been baking with pears nonstop (there’s still a lot to come aside from these delicious and very tender muffins). ;)

Pear and cranberry muffins with cinnamon pecan topping
from Fresh from the Market

Topping:
½ cup (55g) pecans, coarsely chopped
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Filling:
2 cups (about 2 small) finely diced peeled Bartlett pears – I used Williams
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons superfine sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Muffins:
2 cups (280g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup (113g/1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (100g) superfine sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup (260g) plain yogurt
1 cup (110g) dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Butter and flour 16 muffin cups in 2 standard-size muffin pans.
Make the topping: stir all the ingredients together in a small bowl.
Make the filling: mix all the ingredients in a medium bowl until well combined.
Now, the batter: whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
Using the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla smooth. Beat in the egg. Add the flour mixture alternately with the yogurt, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and beating until the batter is well blended and smooth. Using a silicone spatula, gently fold in the pear filling and the cranberries into the batter.
Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the muffins and bake until risen and golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
Cool in the pan, over a wire rack, for 5 minutes, and then carefully unmold the muffins, transferring them to the rack to cool completely.

Makes 16 – I halved the recipe, used 1/3 cup (80ml) capacity pans and got 10 muffins