pear mascarpone muffin talk

Let's talk about muffins. If you follow me on Instagram you previewed my obsession one early morning. I love them. I honestly am not sure how anyone can not love muffins because essentially they are heartier healthier cupcakes, and if you can't appreciate and fall in complete love with the subtle art of baking bread in cup shapes then perhaps you are missing out. i digress. My point is that muffins have the potential to take such a variety of flavors, components, and sizes that my adoration has been solidified. Needless to say, when I came into mascarpone and beautiful pears my heart knew the direction that this combination would take: MUFFINS.

After much scouring I found a recipe for ricotta and pear muffins which sounded amazing, but ricotta is no mascarpone. For those who aren't aware mascarpone is like Italian style cream cheese with a slight sweetness and saltiness flavor. Whereas ricotta is a different variant of cheese that also has a slight sweetness but is used more for lasagna or mixed with other creamier cheeses like mozzarella. After slight tweaking of the recipe, I present :

Pear and Mascarpone Muffins
Ingredients
- 3/4 c. Mascarpone
- 2 large pears
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 c. butter (melted)
- 2/3 c. sugar
- 2 c. all purpose flour
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- brown sugar for sprinkling atop

Procedure
1. Preheat oven to 350F
2. Cream together mascarpone and eggs.
3. Peel and cut pears into small cubes. Then add to mascarpone-egg mixture.
4. Add melted butter to pears-mascarpone and combine well. Then add white sugar and mix well.
5. In a separate bowl sift together dry ingredients (flour+baking powder+baking soda+salt)
6. Combine dry ingredients and pear-mascarpone until all dry pockets are gone
 **be sure not to over mix or muffins will turn out hard and not as fluffy**
7. Dole out batter into muffin pan & sprinkle brown sugar atop to create crust.
8. Bake for 15-20 min. or until toothpick comes out clean.
9. Then take out of oven and rest for a few minutes before devouring them with jam :) enjoy!

I am going to try to do a short DIY gift post for those of you that have not had time to go shopping..like myself. Have a beautiful Saturday!

lots of lovee