Daring Bakers February: Quick Bread

The Daring Bakers’ February 2012 host was – Lis! Lisa stepped in last minute and challenged us to create a quick bread we could call our own. She supplied us with a base recipe and shared some recipes she loves from various websites and encouraged us to build upon them and create new flavor profiles.

I made Brown butter butterscotch walnut pear muffins (bee-bee-bee-wop!).
The trouble with muffins is it's easy to unhinge your jaw just enough to fit an entire one inside. That's why I made just a half batch for my family of three to enjoy. ;)

 
 

Here's the recipe I used--I made just a half-batch of this recipe, making eight muffins.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup butter, browned in a small pot
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
2 cups diced pears
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup chopped, toasted walnuts

Directions:
1.     Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 12 cup muffin tin or line with paper muffin cups.
2.     In a large bowl, stir together 2 1/4 cups flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate smaller bowl, mix together the egg, buttermilk, 1/2 cup melted butter, vanilla and 1 1/2 cups of brown sugar until sugar has dissolved. Pour into the flour mixture and sprinkle the diced apple into the bowl as well. Stir just until everything is blended. Spoon into the prepared muffin tin, filling the cups to the top.
3.     Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the tops of the muffins spring back when lightly pressed.

Check out my fellow DBers' quick breads through our blogroll!