Jen at Maple N' Cornbread selected this week's Sweet Melissa Sundays recipe of Pear Cranberry Muffins with Gingersnap Crumble. I have to admit I wasn't enthusiastic about this selection but decided to make them anyway after so many SMS bakers baked with me last week.
I'm so glad I decided to make these muffins! They are delicious and just a little different than your everyday run of the mill muffin. The gingersnap crumble is really the star (even with storebought gingersnaps) and is the perfect accessory to this simple, yet delicious muffin. The muffin is moist and complex with the chunks of sweet pear mixed with the slighty tart cranberries. The crunchy and spicy crumble would be fantastic over an apple, pear, and cranberry tart. Yum!
I did make a few changes to the recipe. I love dried cranberries and subbed them for the frozen used in the recipe. I forgot to pick up an orange (so I called on frozen orange juice concentrate to do double duty; first in the batter and then to plump up the dried cranberries. I added about a tablespoon of orange juice concentrate and a teaspoon of cardamom to the batter to replace the orange zest. I had decided to use buttermilk in place of the cream, but forgot that the recipe called for whole milk. I ended up using 1/4 cup of buttermilk, 1/4 cup of cream, and 1/4 cup skim milk. Lastly, I used storebought gingersnaps in the crumble.
Check out the original recipe on Jen's blog, here.
I'm so glad I decided to make these muffins! They are delicious and just a little different than your everyday run of the mill muffin. The gingersnap crumble is really the star (even with storebought gingersnaps) and is the perfect accessory to this simple, yet delicious muffin. The muffin is moist and complex with the chunks of sweet pear mixed with the slighty tart cranberries. The crunchy and spicy crumble would be fantastic over an apple, pear, and cranberry tart. Yum!
I did make a few changes to the recipe. I love dried cranberries and subbed them for the frozen used in the recipe. I forgot to pick up an orange (so I called on frozen orange juice concentrate to do double duty; first in the batter and then to plump up the dried cranberries. I added about a tablespoon of orange juice concentrate and a teaspoon of cardamom to the batter to replace the orange zest. I had decided to use buttermilk in place of the cream, but forgot that the recipe called for whole milk. I ended up using 1/4 cup of buttermilk, 1/4 cup of cream, and 1/4 cup skim milk. Lastly, I used storebought gingersnaps in the crumble.
Check out the original recipe on Jen's blog, here.
Im so glad these turned out for you! Your little changes sound nice too! Thanks for baking with me this week :)
ReplyDeleteGorgeous muffins!! I was hesitant to make these too but am so glad I did in the end because they really were terrific - especially the crumble :)
ReplyDeleteSo glad you went ahead with these and enjoyed them! I love it when that happens!
ReplyDeleteGlad you went ahead and tried these. They look great!
ReplyDeleteI am always so afraid to make changes to recipes. Good for you for being so brave! Your muffins look delicious!
ReplyDeleteYay - when i heard about gingernap topping I thought 'that would be awesome' and now I have a picture to drool over
ReplyDeleteI plan on using store-bought gingersnaps...if I ever get around to making these! So I'm glad it turned out.
ReplyDeleteYour muffins look terrific; I'm glad you ended up enjoying them! This muffin recipe seems to lend well to changes, I made a few as well.
ReplyDeleteI love this recipe with buttermilk! Glad you decided to bake along this week. It really was a great flavor combination.
ReplyDelete