Pear Chocolate Chip Muffins
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Moist and delicious Pear Chocolate Chip Muffins, made with a handful of simple, pantry staple ingredients, these easy muffins are the perfect way to use any leftover pears taking up space on your counter!
If you have any leftover pears laying around and you want to use them in a delicious recipe, look no further! These pear chocolate chip muffins are the perfect destination for that juicy fruit. Made with just a handful of pantry staple ingredients, as well as chopped pears and loads of chocolate, these easy muffins are the perfect grab-n-go breakfast or snack!
Why These Muffins Are Great
- Simple Ingredient List
- Great Use Of Leftover Pears
- Easy To Make
- Delicious and Moist
I had some leftover pears on the counter that I had forgotten about. I hate throwing food away, so I decided to make some muffins. There are all sorts of banana muffins, so why not pear muffins?! These muffins are so easy to make – head to your pantry, grab the basics, add some chocolate (because chocolate makes everything better) and you’ve got yourself a tender, moist, delicious treat – perfect for snacking.
Ingredient Notes
- Flour – All-purpose flour will work best.
- Leavening Agents – You’ll need both Baking Powder and Baking Soda.
- Salt – Salt is necessary to bring out all the flavors, don’t skip it!
- Pears – Peeled and diced. Use your preference of pear! See “FAQs & Expert Tips” for more info. You can also use a box grater and grate these.
- Sugar – Regular granulated sugar. Brown sugar can be used instead.
- Egg – Use large eggs at room temperature. The eggs help bind everything together.
- Butter – I used unsalted to control the sodium, just make sure it’s melted! You can also use salted butter, but just reduce the salt amount.
- Chocolate Chips – Use your preference. Milk, dark, white etc.
How To Make Pear Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Preheat Oven: Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In a separate bowl, mix the melted butter, egg, and sugar together. Add the pears and mix.
- Combine: Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and either using a whisk or a wooden spoon mix everything together but do not over-mix. Add the chocolate chips and mix until the chocolate chips are well incorporated into the batter.
- Prep Pan: If you’re not using muffin liners, grease the muffin pan or spray it with cooking spray. Add about two tablespoons of the batter to each muffin cup. Place the muffin pan in the oven and reduce the heat to 375°F.
- Bake: Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown. To test for doneness, insert a clean toothpick in the center of a muffin, and if it comes out clean, it’s done.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Tell When My Muffins Are Done Baking?
My favorite way to test anything from cakes, quick breads, muffins, and everything in between, will always be the toothpick test! Insert a toothpick into the thickest part of one of your muffins. If it comes out clean, the muffins are done. If not, bake for another 5 minutes at a time until they’re done. Make sure to test a different muffin each time.
Why Are My Muffins Dense?
You may have over mixed your batter! Did you know that the way you mix your muffin batter has a great impact on how your muffins turn out, especially the texture? When you overmix the batter, it crushes the air bubbles and ruins the fluffy texture! A lumpy batter means light and airy muffins.
What Can I Add To My Muffins?
Use your favorite chocolate chips in these muffins, or a combination of a few! You can also add pecans, walnuts or your favorite nuts for an extra crunch. Whatever you see fit, feel free to incorporate!
Tips
- You do not need to use fresh pears for this recipe! I used some leftover pears on the counter that I had forgotten about. Similar to when bananas get over-ripe, you use them for baking banana bread or muffins, the same applies to pears!
- Over mixing your batter will lead to muffins that are dense and chewy, we don’t want that!
- Preheating the oven at 450°F and then turning down the heat to 375°F when the muffins go in will allow the muffins to rise fast in the beginning of baking, giving them that dome-like top.
Storing
Let your pear and chocolate chip muffins cool down to room temperature before storing. Keep them in an airtight container, freezer bag, or pile them up in a cake plate with a dome. They’ll stay fresh for 2 days at room temperature, or up to 1 week in the fridge. You can reheat them for 10-20 seconds in the microwave before biting in, if you’d prefer.
Freezing
Your muffins need to be fully cooled down to room temperature before freezing. Keep them in an airtight container, freezer bag, or wrap each muffin individually with plastic wrap. They will last up to 2 months frozen.
I usually just let the muffins thaw at room temperature for an hour or so, but you can heat them in the microwave at 10 second intervals to speed up the thawing process.
More Related Recipes
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Pear and Chocolate Chip Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup butter (unsalted, melted)
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup sugar
- 3 pears (peeled and diced)
- 1 cup chocolate chips
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
- Preheat Oven: Preheat oven to 450°F.
- Mix Dry Ingredients: In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.
- Mix Wet Ingredients: In a separate bowl, mix the melted butter, egg, and sugar together. Add the pears and mix.
- Combine: Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and either using a whisk or a wooden spoon mix everything together but do not over-mix. Add the chocolate chips and mix until the chocolate chips are well incorporated into the batter.
- Prep Pan: If you're not using muffin liners, grease the muffin pan or spray it with cooking spray. Add about two tablespoons of the batter to each muffin cup. Place the muffin pan in the oven and reduce the heat to 375°F.
- Bake: Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the muffins are golden brown. To test for doneness, insert a clean toothpick in the center of a muffin, and if it comes out clean, it's done.
Equipment
Notes
- Over mixing your batter will lead to muffins that are dense and chewy, we don’t want that!
- Preheating the oven at 450°F and then turning down the heat to 375°F when the muffins go in will allow the muffins to rise fast in the beginning of baking, giving them that dome-like top.
- Storage: Let your pear and chocolate chip muffins cool down to room temperature before storing. Keep them in an airtight container, freezer bag, or pile them up in a cake plate with a dome. They’ll stay fresh for 2 days at room temperature, or up to 1 week in the fridge. You can reheat them for 10-20 seconds in the microwave before biting in, if you’d prefer.
- Your muffins need to be fully cooled down to room temperature before freezing. Keep them in an airtight container, freezer bag, or wrap each muffin individually with plastic wrap. They will last up to 2 months frozen.
Nutrition Information
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
I really enjoyed these muffins! I halved the chocolate chips and used whole meal flour which worked nicely. Next time I’d cut the sugar back a bit too. Thanks so much, really yummy.
We are enjoying your pear muffin recipe so much yum.
So glad you like it 🙂
I accidentally did this with 3 cups of pears instead of 3 pears. I realized it after I mixed the pears with the wet ingredients so no turning back! I reduced the chocolate chips to half a cup and chopped up the chips so it could mix better with the overwhelming pear-heavy batter. It turned out great! I’ll go heavy with the pears again!
Hi Jo, I’ve been subscribed to your blog for a while and absolutely LOVE your recipes! Thanks ! I have jars of CANNED pears. Can I use them for this pear and chocolate chip muffin recipe ?
Yes you can as long as they’re drained! Enjoy 🙂
Great recipe!! Moist! Reduced sugar a bit. Sprinkled some chopped pecans on top.
Just made these, adjusted a bit for altitude (we’re at 4500 feet). I’m having a hard time not eating them all while wrapping Christmas presents. Perfect! Thank you!
Very tasty, the best pear muffins I’ve tried. They are perfect to use overripe pears.
How do you suppose that 1 egg and 1/3 butter would be enough liquid? I had to add 1/2 c milk just to get flour wet! Please test your recipe.
You should have enough liquid because you get the rest from the pear.
Wow! If you can’t say something nice, try saying nothing at all. So negative. I’ve subscribed to Jo’s recipes for years! They’re always wonderful! Since pears are in season, I’ll definitely be making these. Pears covered in warm ganache are amazing, so I already know pears and chocolate were made for each other!
Hi , I thought so too. but it works 🙂 I grated only 2 pears into it, and even added about 1/4 of coconut – omitted the chocolate chips and they were delicious!
These muffins are so delicious! And the pears provide such natural sweetness that I was able to reduce the sugar to only 1/4th cup and the muffins still taste like a scrumptious treat.
Every time I see pears on sale, I buy nine of them so that I can make a triple batch of these muffins. And the muffins still disappear far too quickly with my family! Maybe I need to make a quadruple or quintuple batch?
LOL! I’m so glad you like them. 🙂
that looks aaawesome
come and be my lunch box guest
http://legolunchbox.tumblr.com/guest-lunch-box
complimenti, questi muffins sono meravigliosi!!! un bacione!
I bought this pan and liners from Ikea as well – my only issue was getting the muffins out of the Ikea paper liners. Did you have issues? Most of the muffin stuck to the liner. I will try it next time without any liners and just spray the muffin pan. I even bought a bunch of extra liners since they are an odd shape and I was worried I would not be able to find them in a year. Now I wonder if it’s my recipes or just a bad batch of paper liners. Thanks.
Hi Evi,
I had no problem at all, makes me wonder if it was your muffin batter. Mine was a bit thicker as I said, I wanted them to rise up a bit more, maybe that had something to do with it. Good luck next time, and let me know how it goes.
Wow ! Pear and Chocolate ! You can’t be wrong with that ! It’s cool in Virginia but not as cold as Calgary. Thanks for the yummy recipe !
You’re welcome 🙂
Pear & chocolate is the best combo 🙂
Please join our link up for *Project LunchBox* You have awesome recipes that can inspire others to make healthy meals at home http://su.pr/221xT1
Thanks Marla, I did.
I used up old pears the other day in a chocolate-pear-banana bread. Chocolate and pears is a great combination and the idea of using pears instead of bananas is phenomenal.
Hi Claudia, Chocolate-pear-banana bread sounds great, I have to try that next.