Pear-Cardamom Muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 large pear, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch dice

Directions

1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat it to 375 degrees F. Prepare the muffin cups with paper liners, or butter them well.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt until evenly combined. Put the bowl aside.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attached, beat the butter and sugar until the mixture looks pale and airy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition, then mix in the vanilla. Add 1/2 of the dry ingredients, then the buttermilk, then the rest of the dry ingredients. Stir only until the flour mixture has just disappeared, then fold in the diced pears.
4. Portion the batter into the muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake until the tops are golden and a cake tester poked into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 18-20 minutes. Cool the muffins for 5 minutes, then move them to a wire rack to cool completely. Muffins are best the day they are baked, but leftovers can be kept in an airtight container for up to 3 days.