Sunday Mornin' Muffins

These muffins are built for a lazy weekend morning. Buttermilk makes the batter tangy and tender, chopped pears add juicy pockets of sweetness throughout, and a spiced sugar topping gives each muffin a crackly, cinnamon-nutmeg crust that shatters when you break one open.

Lemon zest in the batter is a quiet but important player. It lifts the warm spices and keeps the pear flavor bright instead of one-note sweet. The wet and dry ingredients get mixed separately, then combined quickly. The recipe even says to “moosh” the wet ingredients together, and that laid-back approach is exactly right. These don’t want to be fussed over.

Fold the pears in at the very end so they stay in distinct pieces and don’t dissolve into the batter.

Kitchen Tips

• Use ripe but firm pears. Overripe pears break down into mush during baking and make the muffins soggy.
• Fill the tins only two-thirds full. These rise significantly and will overflow if you’re too generous.
• The spiced sugar topping goes on before baking, not after. It bakes into the top and forms a thin, sweet crust.
• Don’t overmix the batter. A few lumps are fine and actually desirable. Smooth muffin batter means tough muffins.

Variations

• Swap pears for apples if that’s what you have. Dice them small so they soften in the bake time.
• Add a handful of chopped walnuts or pecans to the batter for crunch.
• Drizzle cooled muffins with a thin lemon glaze for extra sweetness and shine.