I am many things - a compulsive stress-baker, a coffee fiend, a obsessive reader, a herder of cats, and a wearer of colourful tights.
One thing I am not, however, is a morning person.
Most days, it's a major achievement to make it out the door in time to catch the bus with matching socks and a semi-presentable hairdo. Let's just say that I'm about as elegant and organized as this cat falling down a set of stairs.
As a result, my breakfast usually consists of whatever I can grab on my way out the door, or one of the emergency rations I've got stashed in my desk at work.
With such limited options, it's not unusual for me to get stuck in a rut. (See: That one month I ate instant maple-brown sugar oatmeal for breakfast pretty much every day.)
I like to think of these pear and rye muffins as the antidote to the sad desk breakfast. Instant oatmeal blues, begone!
As far as ruts go, these babies are downright habit-forming, but it's for all the right reasons. Seriously. They're freaking delicious.
They get their nutty flavour and hearty texture from rye flour (which really deserves to make its way into your baking more often... trust me on this), and their indulgent sweetness from big chunks of fresh pear and melty bits of dark chocolate.
They're equal parts healthy and delicious, which is just how a proper breakfast ought to be.
The crowning touch is the sprinkling of cocoa nibs. The muffins are delicious as-is, but the cocoa nibs add an extra burst of bittersweet chocolate flavour and toothsome crunch.
I've marked them down as optional, since I know they're kind of hard to find, but they're most definitely mandatory in my books. A girl's got to get her antioxidants somehow, right? Forget nuts. Cocoa nibs is where it's at.
I may suck at waking up in the morning (and at doing pretty much anything else in the morning, for that matter).
But bake a badass muffin? Yes sirree, that I most definitely can do.
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Rye and Pear Muffins with Dark Chocolate
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 12 1x
Description
These muffins pair a nutty rye base with chunks of pear and cocoa nibs for a delicious start to your day.
Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup rye flour
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- 2½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 egg
- ½ cup yogurt
- ½ cup milk
- ⅓ cup canola oil
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 medium pears, cut into small dice
- ½ cup roughly chopped dark chocolate
- ¼ cup cocoa nibs (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin with baking liners.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a second bowl, whisk together egg, yogurt, milk, oil and vanilla until blended. Add the dry ingredients and stir until just barely combined. Gently fold in the pears and chocolate.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tin (it's okay if the cups are nearly full). Sprinkle muffins with some cocoa nibs, if desired.
- Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a muffin comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for five minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool off to room temperature.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Canadian
Sarah Walker Caron (Sarah's Cucina Bella) says
I've never used rye flour before, but now I want to locate some. These muffins sound delightful -- especially with the cocoa nibs!
Lauren Kelly Nutrition says
I am a morning person and I love breakfast so of course I am all over these muffins!
Paula - bell'alimento says
Not a morning person either ; ) These look amazing.
Renee - Kudos Kitchen says
I'll bet the rye flour adds a great flavor along with the chocolate. I really like the looks of these muffins, too. Great recipe!
Carolyn says
I never would have thought of using rye in a sweeter muffin like this. But I can totally dig it!
Nikki @ Nik Snacks says
You're a cat wrangler, too? A woman after my own heart. You've also just given me life with a new breakfast idea in muffins like yours. Score! Choc & rye? I'm in.
Nutmeg Nanny says
I'm the worst at eating breakfast and HATE cooking right away in the morning. Usually I wake up and eat something quick and then find the energy to cook around 10am. These muffins look perfect for morning snacking plus I get an excuse to eat chocolate in the morning.
Sofia | From the Land we Live on says
HA matching socks are totally overrated. Sometimes matching happens by accident but I don't remember the last time I tried. Love these muffins, especially the chocolate + pear combination...SO good.
Heather | All Roads Lead to the Kitchen says
Loving the rye flour in here, and the cocoa nibs sound like perfection against the pears. Plus - hellllo beautiful!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
What a delicious flavor combination, I've no doubt I would love these!
Lora @cakeduchess says
I am also a compulsive stress-baker, a coffee fiend, and an obsessive reader! I wish I could say that I wear colorful tights, but it's way too hot here all year in FL:) Lovely muffins and a way to use rye flour that I normally wouldn't consider!
The Food Hunter says
I love the flavor combination of these muffins
suki says
That looks perfectly neat :) and delicious!