Pear-Cherry Muffins (I've been experimenting...)

The other day I noticed that we had 2 pears that were really ripe...you know the kind: too ripe to eat, but not yet too ripe to be bad. We also had about a pound of bing cherries that were quickly going bad in the fridge (Hubby is the only one who eats these). I have really been concentrating on using up all the fresh produce that I have been buying, not only to make sure we are not wasting money, but also in an effort to be healthier. So what to do? What to do?

I looked online....and I found recipes using pears and recipes using cherries, but most recipes needed more than I had on hand. I thought and thought....then it hit me. Why not try to make a muffin using the pears and cherries. I looked online to see if I could find a recipe for a pear and cherry bread or muffin and could not find anything. There were lots of pear recipes but none that included cherries.

So I got to work. I took a recipe from "JoCooks" for Pear and Chocolate Chip Muffins as a basis and then tweaked it to make it my own. And hoped for the best.

Here are my results:

Well let me tell you, these muffins are MOIST and DELICIOUS!!!!! Even my picky Rebecca LOVES them! So sometimes it pays to think outside the box and try something new. This recipe will definitely be added to my collection of muffins and quick bread recipes.

Sorry for the dark photo---the color is supposed to be like the muffins above.

PEAR-CHERRY MUFFINS
-makes 12 muffins
- according to my calculations, each muffin is 176 calories and 4.5 grams of fat.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup butter melted (I use margarine)
• 2 pears peeled and diced
• 1 cup bing cherries, pitted and diced

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and sugar together.
3. Add melted butter and egg to dry ingredients and mix together.
4. Add the pears and cherries to the batter and mix until incorporated.
5. Place muffin liners into pan, or spray muffin tin with non-stick spray.
6. Add batter to muffin tin until each cup is about 3/4 full.
7. Place muffin tin in the oven.
8. Bake for 14-17 minutes.

I hope you enjoy them like our family does!

Have you ever experimented successfully in the kitchen? Do you experiment in the kitchen tweaking recipes?