VANILLA PEAR, SPICED PEAR AND BLUEBERRY MUFFINS









VANILLA PEAR MUFFINS, SPICED PEAR MUFFINS AND BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

A delicious muffin with a tender, cake-like texture. Try all the variations!  I knew my vanilla pear muffin batter would make a great blueberry muffin and I was correct!  One or two slight changes and a beautiful new recipe was born.  Blueberry muffins are possibly one of the most popular muffins.  Blueberries are a great choice as they are high in anti-oxidants and not too carby and low on the glycemic index.  As well, they have been reported in recent studies to improve memory.

NOTE:  I have made the Vanilla Pear Muffins with the Grain-Free Bake Mix using Anthony's Buckwheat flour (this brand has a nice texture and a very mild, neutral flavor).


21/4 cups Gluten-FreeBake Mix 2, OR Grain-Free Bake Mix (560 mL)
2 tsp baking powder (10 mL)
1/tsp baking soda (2 mL)
1/tsp salt (2 mL)
3 eggs
Liquid sweetener (sucralose or stevia) to equal 2/3  cup sugar (150 mL)
1/cup light-tasting olive oil (75 mL)
1/cup granulated erythritol (60 mL)
11/2 tsp unflavored gelatin (7 mL)
2 tsp real vanilla extract (10 mL)
1/cup low-carb milk, OR almond milk (125 mL)
11/cups diced pears, OR fresh or frozen blueberries (see just below) (300 mL)

Blueberry Muffins:  Add 11/4  cups (300 mL) frozen blueberries, tossed with an extra 2 tbsp (30 mL) Gluten-Free Bake Mix 2, before folding into the muffin batter.  (6.5 g carbs)

Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). In medium bowl, combine Gluten-Free Bake Mix 2, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 

In food processor, process eggs.  Add liquid sweetener, olive oil, erythritol, gelatin and vanilla; process.  Add half dry ingredients and half milk, OR almond milk; process.  Repeat, scraping sides once or twice.  Fold pears into muffin batter. Fill 12 greased, regular-sized muffin cups in a muffin tin 3/–full.  Place in oven and immediately reduce oven temperature to 400°F (200°C).  Bake 25 minutes, or until pointy knife or cake tester inserted in a muffin comes out clean.

Variations:  Spiced Pear Muffins:  Reduce vanilla extract to 1/tsp (2 mL) and add 2 tsp (10 mL) cinnamon, 1/tsp (2 mL) ginger and 1/tsp (1 mL) nutmeg to the dry ingredients. (7.2 g carbs)


Blueberry Muffins:  Add 11/4  cups (300 mL) frozen blueberries, tossed with an extra 2 tbsp (30 mL) Gluten-Free Bake Mix 2, before folding into the muffin batter.  (6.5 g carbs)


Yield:  12 Vanilla Pear muffins
1 muffin
182.1 calories
5.3 g protein
14.1 g fat
6.9 g net carbs