I know I just had a recipe for muffins but I don't care. These muffins are just great and healthy and what's even more spectacular, they can be made with so many different kinds of fruit. Don't like pear and ginger? Fine, make them apple with cinnamon, blueberry, banana walnut, etc. The versatility combined with the healthfulness of these muffins and the wonderfully moist texture makes this recipe a home run.
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup agave nectar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup almond milk
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 bartlett pears, peeled and diced into small chunks
Spray a 12-cup muffin tin with non-stick spray, or line with papers. However, if you are lining with papers, due to the extremely low fat content these bad boys will absolutely cling to the wrappers like a preschooler on his or her first day of school so be sure to spray them with non-stick spray.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, agave and applesauce and beat until completely incorporated (you can use a mixer or hand held mixer). Add the egg and mix well. Finally, add the almond milk and vinegar and mix until combined. Now, make a well in your dry ingredients and fold in the wet ingredients and the pear chunks (it's easier to mix the wet first until almost combined and then adding the pears). Leave the batter alone - NO SCOOPING YET.
I know some of you must be thinking I forgot to tell you what temperature to pre-heat the oven. False, I didn't forget; you need to now preheat the oven to 375. The reason I left this direction to here is because the muffin batter needs to stay completely untouched for a half hour, and that does mean no touching (scooping your finger in the batter does in fact constitute as touching). By letting the batter sit, these muffins will develop an immaculately golden crown resembling the work of your local bakery.
Once you've allowed your batter to go untouched for at least a half hour, scoop the batter evenly into your prepared muffin tin and bake for about 25 minutes (check around 23 with a toothpick to see if they're done - i.e. it comes out completely clean).
Place the pan on your cooling rack and cool them in the pan for about 5 minutes. Then, remove them from the pan and finish cooling on the cooling rack.
