I don’t remember the last time I made muffins, and I’m not sure why. In fact, we’ve owned a muffin tin for years and have yet to use it. Maybe it’s because I’m not much of a baker, or because I prefer savoury foods over sweet. Or maybe it’s because I try not to focus my diet too heavily on grains. Nevertheless, muffins are really easy to bake and they can make a decent snack.
So what inspired me to bake muffins after 5 years of untouched muffin tins? Well, you guessed it. Leftover buttermilk! I needed a fun new way to use it up, and I also had some black einkorn flour leftover from making perogies so I thought, I bet some buttermilk muffins would be great. But a muffin is only as good as its ingredients.
We’re in early June now, and still the only fruit to be found at the farmers market is apples and pears. We were grateful to have these fruits all winter long, but I can’t wait for other fruits to start appearing. I’m patiently awaiting the raspberries for a specific recipe I want to try out! For now, I thought some Anjou pears from BC would paired nicely with some walnuts and cinnamon.
Einkorn is an ancient variety of wheat. It is higher in protein, Vitamin B6, essential fatty acids, potassium, and carotenoids than other modern wheats. While it does contain gluten, it is actually a different type of gluten. In fact, many people who are gluten-intolerant (I’m not talking celiac here), find they can eat ancient wheat varieties like einkorn without any ill effects. It is also often grown without the use of pesticides or fertilizers, but I would still look for a certified organic product if possible. If you prefer to make this recipe without wheat , you can substitute einkorn flour with an all-purpose gluten-free flour.
Cinnamon Walnut & Pear Einkorn Muffins
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Nicole
Category: Breakfast
Makes: 12 muffins
Ingredients
- 2 cups organic black einkorn flour
- 2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger powder (grated ginger would be lovely too)
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 large pinches of freshly grated nutmeg
- 2 organic pastured eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup organic pastured buttermilk (I ran out of buttermilk and used ½ cup buttermilk & ½ cup milk kefir)
- ½ cup No. 3 maple syrup
- ¼ cup organic pastured butter, melted (learn to make your own!)
- ¾ large Anjou pear, chopped small (about 1 cup)
- ½ cup walnuts, chopped (soaked and dehydrated)
Directions
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, salt, and nutmeg. In a smaller bowl, lightly beat the eggs using a whisk. Add buttermilk, maple syrup and melted butter, whisk to combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir together with a wooden spoon until just combined. Do not over-mix. Add pears and walnuts, mix until evenly distributed.
- Preheat oven to 375F. Lightly grease a muffin tin with coconut oil, or alternatively you can use muffin papers (I’d like to say my goal was to go waste-free, but in reality I just didn’t have muffin papers). Using a spoon, drop muffin batter into the muffin tin so each cup is not quite full. You want room for the muffins to rise. Place in the oven and bake 18-20 minutes until an inserted knife comes out clean.
- Set aside muffins to cool. Once cooled, remove from the tray. I did this with a big spoon, and it worked just fine. Wait until muffins are completely cooled before placing them in a closed storage container. Enjoy!
Notes & Substitutions
can’t find einkorn? // spelt flour, all-purpose flour
dairy-free // coconut milk instead of buttermilk, coconut oil instead of butter
egg-free // ½ cup unsweetened applesauce, ½ cup mashed banana
gluten-free // all-purpose gluten-free flour
nut-free // sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds
dairy-free // coconut milk instead of buttermilk, coconut oil instead of butter
egg-free // ½ cup unsweetened applesauce, ½ cup mashed banana
gluten-free // all-purpose gluten-free flour
nut-free // sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds
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