Pumpkin Muffins

I have never been a huge pumpkin fan. Growing up, I avoided anything pumpkin. Never had a bite of pumpkin pie, in fact, because I decided that I didn't like the scent, so I wouldn't like the taste. I truly didn't try pumpkin until this year. I'm proud of myself for trying, but I'm still not a fan. It tastes okay, but I'd much prefer chocolate any day. Husband is a huge pumpkin fan - he'd have me bake pumpkin bread all the time if I would, so fortunately, I'm still able to do some pumpkin-related baking and have it all get eaten up. And it turns out, Baby is a huge pumpkin fan.

These muffins were a bit hit with the playgroup crowd - I had baked them mostly for the kids, and Baby seems to want to have one every day at this point. He calls them "pumcake," like a combination of pumpkin and pancake which is really, really cute.

Pumpkin Muffins
from Gourmet magazine, 2006

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin

1/3 c vegetable oil

2 large eggs

1 tsp pumpkin-pie spice (or 1/8 tsp of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger and allspice)

1 1/4 cups of sugar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp sugar (for the topping)

1 tsp cinnamon (for the topping)

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line muffin cups with paper liners or lightly grease the tin.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder in a small bowl.

3.Whisk together pumpkin puree, 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.

4. Stir together cinnamon and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in another bowl.

5. Divide batter among muffin cups (each should be about 3/4 full), then sprinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake until puffed and golden brown and a wooden pick or skewer inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean, 25-30 minutes.

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

Printable recipe