Pear & Hazelnut Muffins

I don't think I fully appreciated pears until I was in high school. The texture was weird to me as a kid, but I finally came to my senses. Now I love anything with pear in it and these muffins are no exception!

What You Need
- 2 small firm pears (I used anjou pears)
- 6 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
- 2/3 white cup sugar
- 1 cup milk (I used 2%)
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup rolled oats
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped and separated

What You Do
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a muffin tin

2. Peel and grate the pears (2) in a large bowl. You should have about 1 cup. Stir in the butter (6tbsp), sugar (2/3cup), milk (1cup), eggs (2), and vanilla (1tsp) until all combined.

3. In a medium sized bowl. Mix together the rolled oats (3/4cup), flour (1 1/2cups), cinnamon (1/2tsp), nutmeg (1/2tsp), salt (3/4tsp) and hazelnuts (1/2cup).

4. Gently fold in the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until just mixed.

5. Fill the muffin cups with the batter almost to the top and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of hazelnuts. Place into the oven and immediately lower temperature to 375 degrees. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean when inserted into the middle.

6. Remove from oven and let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Eat these for breakfast or desert...or for both!

**Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen**