Carmelized Pear Muffins

A while ago, I ran across this recipe for Carmelized Pear Muffins with Coffee Icing from A Foodie Froggy in Paris and couldn't resist trying them out for one of our dessert and coffee Fridays. I am one of the few people in the world who doesn't like coffee, but the rest of the muffin looked so yummy! I talked them up for days with the college students, and the night I made them, my husband and I duly taste-tested, only to be disappointed by the lack of flavor and dryness. Hmmm...

By that time, it was too late to make anything else, and my husband reminded me that college students will eat anything that's homemade, so I sucked it up and served them anyways. Imagine my surprise when not only did they eat them, but they gave them glowing reviews! I had to test them again, and lo and behold, they had become tasty and moist overnight! The pear and carmel flavor shined through...phew!


As I mentioned, I changed the recipe a little because I don't like coffee. Instead, I made a simple caramel icing based on this recipe from Allrecipes, which contributed to the moistness the next day after being soaked up by the muffin. Since the brown sugar I find here in France is a little different than what I'm used to at home, the mixture tasted a little more like powdered sugar than I would have liked, so I added a squirt of a premade caramel topping they have here for things like flan. I'm sure that if made with normal American-style brown sugar, this would not have needed that extra caramel flavor.

Caramel Icing
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Squeeze of prepackaged caramel topping

DIRECTIONS

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, and mix in 3 tablespoons milk and brown sugar. Boil vigorously for 1 minute.
2. Remove from heat, and beat in 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar. Cool slightly, and beat in the vanilla and remaining 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar. Add more milk if the mixture is too thick.

Thanks, Foodie Froggy for a great recipe!