Ginger Pear Muffins

December. The four-hour days. The darkness absolute. But this December has a counterweight — Angela is due in five weeks and the baby has changed the chemistry of the darkness. The darkness is still dark. The cold is still cold. The SAD lamp is still on every morning. But the anticipation of Mia has given December a light source it doesn't usually have, an internal light, the light of waiting for a person who will arrive in the darkest month and will therefore be, by definition, the light in the dark.

The baby's name is decided: Mia. Meaning "mine" in some languages, "beautiful" in others. The name had to pass both engineering specs (James) and Santos specs (can Lourdes yell it across the Mountain View house?). The name passed both. "MIA!" Lourdes tested, yelling it in the kitchen. The yell carried. The name is official.

I made bibingka — the coconut rice cake, the Christmas food. The bibingka was golden and warm and the sweetness was a shield against the darkness, the December sweetness that says: the light will come back. The baby will come. The coming is certain. The certain is the comfort.

I made bibingka that day because it was the thing I knew, the Christmas food that meant the light was coming — but the next morning I wanted to keep baking, to keep making warmth, and these ginger pear muffins were what my hands reached for: golden, spiced, soft in the center, the kind of thing you pull from the oven and the kitchen smells like December is something good. If you’re waiting for something certain, bake something that feels certain too. These do.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 22 min | Total Time: 37 min | Servings: 12 muffins

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup neutral oil (such as avocado or grapeseed)
1/2 cup whole milk or buttermilk
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups peeled, diced ripe pears (about 2 medium pears)
2 tbsp finely chopped crystallized ginger (optional, for extra warmth)
1 tbsp turbinado sugar, for topping

Instructions

Preheat and prepare. Heat your oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or grease lightly with butter or oil.
Whisk the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg until evenly combined.
Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate medium bowl, whisk the brown sugar, eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla until smooth and the sugar is mostly dissolved, about 1 minute.
Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula until just combined — a few streaks of flour are fine. Do not overmix.
Fold in the pears. Gently fold in the diced pears and crystallized ginger, if using. The batter will be thick.
Fill the tin. Divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar.
Bake. Bake for 20–22 minutes, until the tops are domed and golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Cool. Let the muffins rest in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. They keep well wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Nutrition (per serving)

Ginger Pear Muffins — The Sweetness That Holds the Dark at Bay