Pumpkin Muffins

I have been enjoying these muffins all week.  In particular, I have been eating one along with a fudge drop cookie as a snack around 3:30 or 4 pm at my desk.  Muffins make the perfect afternoon snack, don't you think?  Plus, these muffins contain both a vegetable and some whole wheat flour, so you can wear your baked-goods-masquerading-as-a-healthy-food halo.  Score!

Just so you know, I've been on a bit of a pumpkin kick lately.  First, I made a pumpkin roll, but it was terribly dry, so I won't be sharing that recipe with you.

Isn't is pretty?  Too bad it was so dry!

Then, I made some pumpkin muffins which were also on the dry side and were a bit too dense.  I began to wonder if I had lost my touch.  Since I was determined to share a nice fall recipe with you, I got back into the kitchen, tied on my yellow apron with the red rooster on it, tweaked the muffin recipe a bit more, and was finally rewarded with something worth eating.

What I like about these muffins is that they have a nice warm fall flavor to them.  They contain quite a few spices, but are not overpowering.  They're moist and have a perfect crumb.  Originally, I had wanted to slather them with a silky cream cheese frosting, but after I had one bite, adding frosting seemed a bit overkill.  If you need more convincing, I am happy to inform you that this recipe is nephew-approved.  The boys (ages 4 and a few days shy of 2!) are always honest about the baked goods I bring over, so if they like them, then I know for certain the recipe is good!

Notes:
You could use any light-flavored oil to make these muffins.  I got tired of running all over the place looking for buttermilk, so now I use buttermilk powder in recipes.  It is super convenient to have a container of it in your fridge.  To use it, you add the specified amount of dry powder to the dry ingredients and then add water to the wet ingredients.  For the kind I use, I needed 2 tablespoons (19 g) of the powder and then a half cup (120 g) of water for this recipe.  If you decide to use dry buttermilk, follow the directions on the container to yield a half cup.  If you have regular buttermilk, by all means use it.  If you don't have regular buttermilk or the powder, you can substitute a half cup of milk with a splash of fresh lemon juice in it.  Since I used the powder and the water, I can't give a precise weight for regular buttermilk or the milk and lemon juice mixture.  The cloves, nutmeg, and cardamom were too light for me to measure on my scale.  The sum of their weights was 1 g.  For the pumpkin, make sure you buy plain pumpkin puree and not the canned pumpkin with the spices already added.  I got 22 muffins out of this recipe.  I always like to line a few extra muffin tins (in this case, I would do 24) so I'm prepared in case I don't distribute the batter perfectly and end up with an extra muffin or two.  Since you don't need to grease the pan or the cups, you can just pull the extras back out of the pan and use them later. 

Adapted from Baking at Home with The Culinary Institute of America

Ingredients:
1½ cups (193 g) all-purpose flour
1¼ cups (146 g) whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon (5g) baking powder
¾ teaspoon (5 g) baking soda
½ teaspoon (4 g) salt
2 teaspoons (4 g) ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon (3 g) ground ginger
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
1 cup (195 g) granulated sugar
1 cup (242 g) pumpkin puree
2 eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup buttermilk (see notes for weight)
½ cup (107 g) grapeseed oil
2 tablespoons (47 g) molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Yields about 22 muffins

Line, Mix, Mix, Combine, Scoop, Bake:
Line muffin tins with some paper or foil liners and set aside.  Adjust the oven racks to the upper and lower thirds of the oven, and preheat to 350ºF.  In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, sugar, and dry buttermilk powder (if you're using it) and set aside.  In a separate bowl, mix together the pumpkin, eggs, buttermilk (or water if using the powder), grapeseed oil, molasses, and vanilla.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, add the wet ingredients, and stir until no more flour streaks remain.  Use a spoon or a large scoop to evenly divide the mixture into the lined muffin tins.  Bake at 350ºF for 15-20 minutes until the muffins are lightly browned on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, rotating the tins halfway through.  Remove the muffins from the tins, and place them on a rack to cool.  Enjoy!

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