Pumpkin Muffins

Just one more pumpkin recipe, I promise. Well, maybe...

It's been so rainy lately that all I want to do is curl up with my fleece blanket with a cup of coffee and do some baking. Especially baking that involves cinnamon, pumpkin, and nutmeg so our apartment smells deliciously sweet and warm. A bake sale last week gave me the perfect excuse to try out a new recipe and buy a mini muffin tin.

There is definitely a reason that this recipe would constitute over half of the most popular search results for pumpkin muffins.

Pumpkin Muffins
Adapted from the American Club, in Kohler, Wisconsin via Gourmet, November 2006

1½ cups all-purpose flour (white whole wheat!)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 15 oz can solid-pack pumpkin (it actually calls for only 1 cup, but this worked great)
1/3 cup vegetable oil (I used apple sauce)
2 large eggs (I used one whole egg and one egg white)
1 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice
1¼ cups (plus 1 tablespoon) sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional, I made half w/ and half w/out)

Preheat oven to 350° Put liners in muffin cups.

Whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, pumpkin-pie spice, 1¼ cups sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until smooth, then whisk in flour and baking powder until just combined. Add choc. chips if using.

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

Divide batter among muffin cups (each should be about three-fourths full), then sprinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake until puffed and golden brown and wooden pick or skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes (minis take a lot less time). Be sure to enjoy the smell!

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

Yum!

Listening to: "Next to You" Jordin Sparks

Thought of the Day: "Whenever you're in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude." - William James