Brown Butter Pear Muffins
These Brown Butter Pear Muffins are the perfect blend of nutty richness, warm spices, and sweet juicy pear in each tender crumb. Browning the butter takes the flavor to another level, while sour cream keeps them perfectly moist. It’s an unexpected combination, but one you’ll keep coming back to. Great for a treat or snack on the go!
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Brown Butter Pear Muffins
- Serves: 9 large muffins
- Main Ingredients: unsalted butter, all-purpose flour, packed light brown sugar, baking powder, ground cinnamon, salt, ground nutmeg, eggs
- Why You'll Love It: These Brown Butter Pear Muffins combine nutty brown butter, warm spices, and juicy pear for a moist, tender treat that's perfect for snacking on the go!
Brown Butter & Pear: The Best Thing to Happen to a Muffin
If you’ve never tried brown butter and pears together, get ready for something special. Ever since I made these muffins, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about what else I can make with this flavor combo. Seriously! The wheels are turning.
Now I’ve made my fair share of brown butter frosting over the years. It has really taken desserts like my Banana Bread Cake and Apple Cinnamon Rolls up a big notch. This time, though, I wanted to add the brown butter straight into the batter… and that pear addition? I have to give myself a little pat on the back for that one!
To make this, all you’re gonna need is some basic pantry staples, some good pears (I’ll tell you my recommendations below), and some sour cream. So simple, but soooo incredibly tasty. That’s how we like it at my house 😉
For more cozy, spiced goodness, try my Spiced Apple Cider Bundt Cake and Maple Vanilla Overnight Oats!
Ingredients Needed
- Unsalted butter
- All-purpose flour
- Light brown sugar
- Baking powder
- Cinnamon, salt & nutmeg
- Eggs
- Sour cream
- Milk
- Vanilla extract
- Pears (use ripe but firm Bartlett, Anjou, or Bosc pears)
- Coarse sugar (or turbinado sugar)
Baking Tips for Fluffy, Golden Muffins
- Watch the butter closely when browning it. It can go from perfectly golden to burnt really fast, so don’t walk away from the stove!
- Don’t overmix the batter once you combine the wet and dry ingredients. A few lumps are totally fine and will actually keep your muffins tender.
- Pat your diced pears dry with a paper towel before folding them in. This helps prevent excess moisture from making the muffins soggy. I did this for my Chewy Pear Bars too, and it worked really well!
- If you don’t have tulip-style liners, regular muffin liners work too, just don’t overfill them.
- The high-to-low oven temperature trick is key for getting that bakery-style domed top, so resist the urge to peek and open the oven door early!
How to Make Brown Butter Pear Muffins
1. Preheat the Oven
Start by preheating your oven to 425°F. Then chop up your pears and line your muffin pan with tulip-style liners.
2. Brown the Butter
Next, melt your butter in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring often. You’re looking for that gorgeous golden brown color and a nutty aroma. This should take about 4–6 minutes.
Once it’s there, take it off the heat and let it cool down a little before using.
3. Mix Dry Ingredients
Grab a large bowl and whisk together your flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg until everything is well combined.
4. Mix Wet Ingredients
Now in a separate bowl, whisk eggs, sour cream, milk, vanilla, and browned butter.
5. Combine Wet & Dry
Pour your wet ingredients into the dry and stir until just combined – don’t overdo it! Then gently fold in your pears.
6. Assemble
Go ahead and divide your batter evenly among the 9 muffin cups, filling those tulip liners nice and full.
Then mix together some coarse sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle it generously over the tops of each muffin.
7. Bake
Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes. Then (without opening the oven!) reduce the temperature to 375°F and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
8. Cool & Serve
Let the muffins sit in the pan for about 5 minutes, then move them over to a wire rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!
Storage
Once your muffins have cooled down all the way, go ahead and tuck them into an airtight container. Lay some paper towels in there to soak up any extra moisture from those juicy pears, and they’ll keep just fine on your counter for up to 3 days.
Brown Butter Pear Muffins FAQs
Bartlett, Anjou, or Bosc pears are your best bet here. Just make sure they’re ripe but still a little firm – you don’t want them too mushy or they’ll just disappear into the batter. I usually give them a gentle squeeze at the store. If they have just a little give, they’re good to go! These are also the same varieties I use in my Pear Bundt Cake with Cinnamon Streusel Swirl, so if you have extras, that’s a great way to use them up!
Absolutely. Full-fat Greek yogurt works really well as a 1:1 swap. I’ve tried it a few times and the muffins come out just as moist and fluffy.
This usually happens when the batter is overmixed or the oven door is opened too early. Stir the batter just until the dry ingredients disappear, and trust the process when it comes to keeping that oven door shut!
In my experience, the secret to a perfectly moist muffin is avoiding overmixing the batter, pulling them out of the oven at just the right time, and adding sour cream or Greek yogurt. The latter adds extra fat and moisture to the batter, which keeps the muffins sooo tender and fluffy!
These muffins basically beg to be talked about. Rate the recipe and share your thoughts in the comments below!
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups peeled and diced pears about 2 medium pears
Topping
- 2 tablespoons coarse or turbinado sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a muffin pan with tulip-style liners.
- Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until golden brown and nutty smelling, about 4–6 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly.½ cup unsalted butter
- Whisk flour, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg together in a large bowl.2 cups all-purpose flour, ¾ cup packed light brown sugar, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- In a separate bowl, whisk eggs, sour cream, milk, vanilla, and browned butter.2 large eggs, ½ cup sour cream, ¼ cup milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Gently fold in pears.1½ cups peeled and diced pears
- Divide batter among 9 muffin cups, filling the tulip liners generously.
- Mix coarse sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle over muffin tops.2 tablespoons coarse or turbinado sugar, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Bake at 425°F for 5 minutes. Without opening the oven, reduce temperature to 375°F and bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.