Recipe Review: Weight-Watchers Glazed Pear Muffins

Diet-specific recipes usually aren’t our thing, but we thought this one might be worth a shot. We were intrigued to see sour cream on the ingredient list and liked the fact that this recipe didn’t rely on any ingredient substitutes to achieve its healthiness. Here’s the verdict…

Overall, we thought these muffins were pretty darn good! They were a bit dense and chewy, but in a way we found pleasing and very enjoyable to bite into! The tender bits of pear made a good texture contrast and we also liked getting the little shots of fruit flavor in each bite.

We also liked that the muffins weren’t overly sweet. They could have used a bit more spice, though. Next time we’ll bump up the cinnamon by another half teaspoon and try adding a pinch of nutmeg. Some crystallized ginger mixed into the batter with the pears would also boost the flavor without adding many more calories!

The glaze added a nice note of sweetness, but not so much that it felt like we were eating a cupcake. We couldn’t really taste the ginger in the glaze, though, and think the recipe would be better served if the ginger went into the batter instead.

The muffins are certainly still delicious even without the glaze – you could leave them plain if you want to trim off a few more calories or avoid extra messiness while eating on the go.

Also, the portion sizes were just right. Many low-fat and diet recipes tend to skimp on the serving size as a way to “cut calories,” leaving us feeling unsatisfied. One of these muffins was perfect for a quick breakfast or mid-day snack.

In Weight-Watcher’s language, these muffins are three points each. We used the MasterCook calorie-counter program to figure out the nutritional information and came up with 163 calories, 3 grams of fat, 3 grams of protein, and 1 gram of fiber per muffin. Not too shabby, really!

We’ll definitely be keeping this recipe in our rotation and look forward to trying it with other fruits as they come into season!

• Glazed Pear Muffins from Weight Watchers

Related: Diet Cookbooks: What’s Left After the Fad Passes?

(Images: Emma Christensen for the Kitchn)