
These muffins, you guys… omg. The texture light and airy thanks to a hearty serving of ricotta cheese. Am I wrong when I posit that ricotta automatically makes everything airier and even more delicious? Ever since discovering just how often Nigella uses it in her recipes, I can’t help but use it more frequently these days. Probably not great for my waistline, but we can address that in the new year. Anyways, back to the most delicious muffin recipe of all time. I suggest whipping up a batch of these cake-like muffins on Christmas day because they are easy to throw together and will be a perfect nibble while you open gifts!

And while we’re talking about Christmas morning, don’t forget these Christmas morning coffee recipes from the archives. They would pair so nicely with this muffin recipe… just sayin’ ;)


Spiced Pear Ricotta Muffins
Ingredients
- 1 stick unsalted butter softened
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
- 2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar plus extra for sprinkling
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup diced Bosc pears unpeeled
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease your muffin pan and sprinkle the inside of each well with sugar.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, ricotta, and vanilla until smooth. Add flour, salt, sugar, cardamom, cinnamon, and baking powder. Gently fold in the dry ingredients without over-mixing. Fold in the softened butter until the batter comes together, then fold in the pears.
- Evenly distribute the batter in the muffin tin and sprinkle the tops with more sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Notes
Nutrition

As I write this post, I am eating yet another of these muffins and I can’t get over the cake-like texture. I feel like these are akin to breakfast cake… is that a thing? Can we make it a thing?

So what do you think?? Let us know how the recipe works for you in the comments! We hope you have a happy holiday season with your loved ones!
shop the post: Greenpan muffin pan, Heart & Hand measuring spoons, grey pour bowl and gold rimmed dessert plate by Suite One Studio.
photography & styling by Jojotastic. recipe adapted from Food52.
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