Pumpkin Goes On

My life can go on: I found pumpkin. Correction: my mom found pumpkin. The not-that-long story is, I went in search of canned pumpkin to replenish my supply for the fall after making the pumpkin brownies. The first grocery store had an empty shelf where it SHOULD have been. I thought it was weird but whatever; I’d just go to another store. A week or so later, I hit another and WHAT- another empty shelf!? I mention the strange phenom to my mom who then discovers there’s word (on the web) that there’s a pumpkin shortage this year. I freak out a little and proceed to spread the word to family and friends to fall on a can of pumpkin like it’s the end of times and it’s the last food on the planet. Hit two more stores on separate sides of town and BOTH are empty shelves. Hope fades.

Then Mom calls Sunday afternoon from Wal-Mart of all places with the news. There’s tons! Fall/Halloween has been saved! I immediately turned on my oven to preheat, ready to use the only can I had in my cupboard RIGHT AWAY.


I had a pumpkin Costco muffin a few weeks ago and it was bliss. But Costco muffins are kind of amazing, aren’t they. I’ve been wanting pumpkin muffins ever since. This recipe popped up on a few other blogs and with their ringing endorsement, I was eager to try too. The original recipe didn’t have a crumb topping like Costco’s muffin and to be honest, that’s one of my favorite parts. So I found a separate crumb topping recipe (for blueberry muffins), added a little cinnamon to it and voila! Pumpkin muffins with crumb topping.

Oh and one other thing: the blog I found the recipe on accidentally put a whole can of pumpkin in the batter when it calls for only 8 ounces (the can is 15 ounces, so, almost double). She raved that it was still good and moist so I thought, what the Hell, man; I’m craving the pumpkin and more can only make it better! They came out really delicious and moist! I did have to add some baking time (around 35-38 minutes) but still.

This made 6 large muffin cups then had a little left over that perfectly I filled a mini muffin pan. I love having little two-bite pieces of muffin around. This is definitely something I’d make again!


PUMPKIN MUFFINS WITH CRUMB TOPPING
Adapted from Gourmet/The American Club

Makes 6 large muffins / 1 dozen small muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 can solid-pack pumpkin (15 ounces)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 1/4 cups plus 1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

CRUMB TOPPING

1 cup all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp light brown sugar
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted


Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350F. Put liners in muffin cups.

Whisk together flour and baking powder in a small bowl.

Whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, 1 1/4 cups sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until smooth, then whisk in flour mixture until just combined.

For crumb topping, in a medium bowl, combine the flour with the brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Stir in the melted butter, then pinch the mixture until it forms pea-size clumps.

Divide batter among muffin cups (each should be about 3/4 full), then sprinkle tops with crumb topping mixture. Bake until puffed and golden brown and a wooden pick or skewer inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.

Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool to warm or room temperature.

Healthy = Healthy!

It's not that I feel guilty, per se, for the overly sweet and fatty foods I've been making of late but sometimes you just feel like something that might actually be good for you. I went in search of a tasty, healthy muffin and came across these wildly popular bran muffins on All Recipes.

Their popularity is undoubtedly rooted in the versatility of these simple muffins. Don't want oil? Yank it out and replace it with healthy applesauce, pumpkin, cooked and pureed carrots, squash or banana! Want some extra oomph? Add shredded carrots, dates, pecans, walnuts, carob chips or coconut. It all works!

I, personally, am a big walnut fan so I played it safe and kept it simple. I used applesauce and a little cinnamon to compliment that then threw in some walnuts. These make the perfect on-the-go breakfast because they're packed with all that healthy junk I've been neglecting lately. AND the applesauce makes them incredibly moist and so tasty!


CLASSIC BRAN MUFFINS
Adapted from All Recipes.com, Submitted by Janet Kalman Villada

1 1/2 cups wheat bran
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup applesauce
1 egg
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

2. Mix together wheat bran and buttermilk; let stand for 10 minutes.

3. Beat together applesauce, egg, sugar and vanilla and add to buttermilk/bran mixture. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Stir flour mixture into buttermilk mixture, until just blended. Fold in walnuts and spoon batter into prepared muffin tins.

4. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Cool and enjoy!

Banana = Healthy, right?

You know when sometimes you just get the craving to make something for no reason? That was the impetus for this. Random craving to bake. I froze a few bananas (I'm on a fruit-freezing spree, huh?) and I just felt like using them for no reason in particular. I let them thaw out, cut off the end and squeezed that junk out. Couldn't be easier!

I read a few reviews that were left on this recipe from the user submitted All Recipes.com and most substituted oil for butter which I did. The muffin itself is quite satisfying but as others noted, what makes them REALLY good is the crumb topping. Mmm. They wouldn't be half as good without it, to be perfectly honest. :)

But I've been having one for breakfast over the past week, convincing myself that bananas make it healthy. ...I'm going to make some bran muffins (with applesauce instead of oil) so I'm TRYING for healthier, okay??

BANANA CRUMB MUFFINS
Adapted from All Recipes, Submitted by Lisa Kreft

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter


1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.

2. In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg and oil. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

3. In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.

Like the doughnut

You know what's EASY to photograph? Muffins.

The sole motivation for this was simply to make something EASY. Nothing is easier than cake. Easier still is a cake without icing. Hence, the muffin.

I was even looking for something simple in terms of ingredients. No special anything here, folks: butter, sugar, cinnamon, etc. It's so straight-forward, you could make it in your sleep. (But, seriously, don't do that; you'll burn the house down and I couldn't live with the guilt.)

I got the recipe from Williams-Sonoma (again). They have such adorable pictures next to all their recipes! It's hard not to just sit and browse until something jumps out at you. So I found these little muffins that the site correctly asserts taste just like cinnamon sugar cake doughnuts (but without the frying). They're especially good slightly warmed with a big glass of milk. Mmm, simple pleasures...


CINNAMON-BUTTERMILK MUFFINS
Source: Williams-Sonoma


For the muffins:

7 Tbs. unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract


For the topping:

2/3 cup sugar
1 Tbs. ground cinnamon
6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted


Preheat an oven to 350°F. Grease 9 standard muffin cups with butter or butter-flavored nonstick cooking spray; fill the unused cups one-third full with water to prevent warping.

To make the muffins, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, combine the butter and sugar and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add the egg and beat well until pale and smooth.

In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. Add to the butter mixture in 2 additions, alternating with the buttermilk and vanilla. Stir just until evenly moistened. The batter will be slightly lumpy.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each three-fourths full. Bake until the muffins are golden, dry and springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Unmold the muffins and let stand until cool enough to handle.

To make the topping, in a small, shallow bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon. Put the melted butter in another small bowl. Holding the bottom of a muffin, dip the top into the melted butter, turning to coat it evenly. Immediately dip the top in the cinnamon-sugar mixture, coating it evenly, then tap it to remove excess sugar. Transfer the muffin, right side up, to the rack. Repeat with the remaining muffins. Let cool completely before serving. Makes 9 muffins.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

A few weeks ago, fall started to happen. And pumpkin products, drinks at Starbucks (holy beJesus, best everrr) started popping up. I jumped on that pumpkin wagon like crazy and bought cans of the stuff, ready to make magic. Then I lost steam. Staring at my cupboards this past week, I realized fall past me by and we're now well into winter (Starbucks is now serving they're frooffy eggnog lattes and peppermint mochas! [shakes fist]). The problem remains: I still have my cans of pumpkin. So I'm PUMPKIN SUITING UP. It's time to use this mushy fruit until I can'ts use it no mo.


First on the pumpkin parade is muffins. I got this recipe from All Recipes.com and it was disturbingly simple. Disturbing because I don't trust things that are TOO easy. But they came out perfectly fine. I'm more of a cupcake gal myself so muffins are always a hit or miss with me. These were not as sweet as I expected but the chocolate chips make up for the lack of sugar in the batter itself. The original recipe calls for all the traditional pumpkin spices separately but I didn't have ground cloves - I only had pumpkin pie spice which is a combination of all the biggies: cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger. I substituted that and added about double the amount of chocolate originally called for. What? I like chocolate.

They came out quite yummy but were especially good warm (melty chocolate!).


PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS

Adapted from AllRecipes.com, Submitted by: Donna

3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease and flour muffin pan or use paper liners.

Mix sugar, oil, eggs. Add pumpkin and water. In separate bowl mix together the baking flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt. Add wet mixture and stir in chocolate chips.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes.

Blueberries get a turn

I had some blueberries and never having made them before, I thought, why not? I used big, 3" muffin tins and this recipe only made four of those and let me tell you, they were WAY too big. The muffin tastes great but you can't eat too much of it. It weighs you down and good. These would be perfect in a regular 12 cup muffin pan. They're so filling, I had one for dinner and then another half for breakfast the next day. Nothing quite beats warm cake, does it?


BLUEBERRY MUFFINS (TO DIE FOR)
From All Recipes.com recipe submitted by: Colleen

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.

2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

3. To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.

4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.