Fall Flavors: Pumpkin Muffins!!

So last week we had 2, that's right 2!! whole days of rain and clouds. The whole city rushed to unpack our coats, boots and umbrellas. I dug out the soup pot and made a nice big batch of cheesy potato soup. Then Saturday came and so did the sun. By Sunday we were back to mid 80's heat and it peaked today at low 90's. Nevertheless, it was too late. Those 2 days of cool, wet, autumn weather have me thinking apples, pumpkins, squash, soups, and other fall yummies.

So on that wet and rainy Friday, with my hubby finally succumbing to the very nasty head cold making its way 'round the family, I decided to make breakfast for dinner. To spice things up, I made pumpkin flavored pancakes. They were pretty darn good and I will get around to posting that recipe-- some other time. But, after making those pancakes, I found myself with 1/2 a can of pumpkin puree left over. I also ended up running out of zucchini muffins from the freezer (finally) early this week.  As I needed to make a new batch of muffins (the little dude has been enjoying them as his morning snack at school), the answer seemed clear: Pumpkin Muffins!!!

I have done a few different variations of pumpkin muffins in the past and I have to say this is one of my favorite. I also "real food" revised the original recipe (as it appeared in the Better Homes & Garden red checkerboard cookbook) to get it up to speed. Once again I am using a quick bread recipe as the base, so expect these to be a little denser than a typical muffin. However they are still plenty light and chock full of flavor. They also freeze beautifully-- I send them to school frozen for durability. When at home, I've found that about 35 seconds in the microwave reheats/defrosts a single muffin perfectly!

While I'm disappointed that we still haven't gotten into true fall weather (and probably won't for 3 or 4 more weeks) at least I can enjoy the flavors of fall!

Recipe: Pumpkin Muffins (yield 12 muffins)

1 cup + 1 cup whole wheat flour (I like King Arthur's white whole wheat)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (fresh if you can get it!)
1/8 tsp ground ginger

1 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling!!!!!!!!)
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1/3 cup softened butter

Optional add ins: (original recipe includes these but I didn't bother)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins

1) In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup flour with the remainder of the dry ingredients (reserve the 2nd cup of flour).
2) Add pumpkin, milk, eggs and butter. Beat with mixer on low speed until combined. Add reserved cup of flour. Beat until mixed thoroughly. Fold in nuts & raisins if including.
3) Distribute into 12 prepared muffin cups (use either silicone liners, paper liners or grease liberally)
4) Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.
5) Cool on a wire rack. Remove liners before freezing.


Feel free to comment below and let me know how this recipe worked for you!

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