Pumpkin Muffins

The other day I was craving Pumpkin bread , I searched the web and came up with this recipe Cream Cheese Pumpkin Bread which turned out fabulous, being one of the few in my house that will eat Pumpkin bread, I took some to work with me and shared with my Co-workers. One of them mentioned they still had 2 pumpkins from Halloween that they had not carved and asked me if I wanted them. Of course I couldn't turn them down. 

Saturday I cut them up and baked them (350°) with some water in the bottom of a pan and covered them with foil til they were fork tender (like a potato)(about 30-45 minutes), let them cool. I then scooped the meat out and pureed it in my blender by the time I was done with both pumpkins I had 8 bags with 2 cups each (pretty standard for pumpkin recipes). I also saved the pumpkin seeds from both pumpkins, Another one of my favorites is Roasted Pumpkin Seeds. wash the seeds and put them in a pan with some salted water and let boil for 5 minutes drain and place on a baking sheet and bake @ 350° for 2-3 hours til golden brown (roasted in color). As I finished up with the pumpkin, I saved the last bit and made these little bites of yumminess. 

Pumpkin Muffins

1 cup pumpkin
1/2  cup granulated sugar

1/2  cup brown sugar
1/3 cup vegetable oil 
2 large eggs
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
½ tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
About 1 tbsp raw sugar for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 350° and grease the cups of a mini muffin tin very well.  

In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, all spices, baking soda and salt.  Then whisk in the flour until the batter is just smooth.  

Divide the batter among the greased muffin cups, filling each one just a bit more than 3/4 full. (I put mine in a gallon Ziploc bag and snip a corner off and pipe the batter into the cups.)  Sprinkle the top of each mini muffin with a bit of Raw sugar and bake in a preheated oven for about 10-14 minutes, or until they are golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean.


If you want you could add mini chocolate chips to this.  

Cool the on a rack until cool enough to handle, remove them to cool fully.

Yes you can use "real" pumpkin to make the same recipes you can with a "can" of pumpkin. This time of the year pumpkin recipes are my favorite. As I stated earlier I am in the minority in my home when I make them, so my neighbors and co-workers benefit when I bake. I hope that you will give these a try and will enjoy them as much as I do. 

Have fun Cookin'

Cyndi