Pumpkin Muffins

Here's another Halloween/pumpkin recipe I tried recently... Pumpkin Muffins. If I could, I would eat muffins all day long, everyday. Really.

Nothing stops me in my tracks while perusing a food blog or recipe book like muffins. While that may seem surprising, as I don't feature a lot of muffin recipes, I should tell you that I make the Morning Glory muffins once every 2 weeks. (sigh) I need to branch out, I know. I have a backlog of new recipes to try though, stay tuned!

This pumpkin recipe is courtesy of Muffin Top, a yummy blog devoted to more than just muffins, who nabbed it from Gourmet magazine.

Our critique: I really liked them, tim was not a fan. He didn't dislike them, but said the pumpkin pie flavor didn't seem right as a muffin. I think he would like them if I adjust the amount of pumpkin and add nuts or other flavor to make them a bit more complex. If you like pumpkin, you will like these. Another important note, they were best the first day. The slightly browned, crunch on top from the sugar became soft and a little moist over the following 1-2 days. I recommend bringing them to work, or a holiday party, where you know they'll all be eaten right away. Otherwise, dont sugar coat all the muffins, and they will keep better.

I will definitely give these little babies another shot, maybe mixing up the recipe a bit for Tim, maybe not. They look so tasty in the picture, it makes me want to reach through the screen and eat one now.

Pumpkin Muffins

originally from Gourmet, November 2006

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin (from a 15-oz can) *christine from Muffin Top said she accidentally put the entire 15 oz. can in, with no ill effects
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice (a combo of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and allspice)
1 1/4 cups, plus 1 tablespoon sugar (kept separate)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350. Put liners in muffin cups.

Whisk together flour and baking powder in a small bowl.

In a large bowl, WHISK together pumpkin, oil, eggs, pumpkin-pie spice, 1 1/4 cups sugar, baking soda, and salt until smooth, then whisk in flour mixture until just combined.

Combine cinnamon and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in another bowl/ramekin.

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

Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack. Best eaten same day! Great plain, or try them with a yogurt butter, mmmm.

More delicious pumpkin recipes:
- Cream Filled Pumpkin Cupcakes, from Tammy's Recipe
- Spicy Pumpkin Pecan Raisin Muffins, from Farmgirl Fare
- Pumpkin Spice Scones, from Pinch My Salt
- Brown Sugar and Spice Pumpkin Bars, from Karina's Kitchen (gluten free)

Guten appetit!

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

I planted, from seed, a zucchini plant this year. I am embarrassed to show you how spindly and bad it looks...


Note to self and all future zucchini growers: zucchini plants do not, repeat NOT, like being planted in a pot. Plant in rich, fertile soil in the GROUND. Ah well, it had some pretty flowers on it, yet no zucchini survived growing larger than 3 inches.

If you had more luck than me and have a bounty of zucchini's (lori), this bread would be a good way to use a couple. It was an easy recipe with most items on hand, and came out deliciously moist. However, don't make the mistake I did and think it's a zucchini bread with chocolate chips. This is basically a chocolate cake with zucchini (which you can barely see or taste). And it's yummy.

Can you see the tiny fleck of zucchini? (Ignore the weird sausage fingers)

I doubled the recipe, and it made 2 loaf pans and 12 muffins. I baked the muffins for approximately 30 minutes, but I recommend checking them after 20, to see if they are done.


Good weekend snack for the kids after going back to school and hitting those books! Or a fun treat to bring into the office. Delicioso.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
slightly adapted from Cooking Light

3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 cup applesauce
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups finely shredded zucchini, about 1 medium (I peeled mine before shredding, just cause)
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used milk chocolate morsels, as it's what I had)
Cooking spray


Preheat oven to 350.

Place first 3 ingredients in a large bowl, and beat with a mixer at low speed until well blended. Stir in applesauce.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups. Combine flour and the next 4 ingredients (through salt), stirring well with a whisk.

Add flour mixture to sugar mixture (slowly), beating just until moist and fully combined.

Stir in the zucchini and chocolate chips. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack, and remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.


Check out these additional chocolate and zucchini recipes:
- Chocolate and Zucchini Cake, from Simply Recipes
- Chocolate Chip Orange Zucchini Bread, from All Recipes
- Chocolate Zucchini Brownies, from Suite101.com

Guten appetit!

Morning Glory Muffins

I should do some guest posts and have my foodie friends contribute their household favorite recipes... I know some really good cooks!

This recipe comes from the east-side, Virginia yo. Michelle is one of 2 high-school best friends, and a seriously wicked cook. She participates in a cooking light supper club, hosts parties with their friends and has old-world italian recipes handed down to her from her grandmother, who lives in Lucca. Um, yeah. Yum! She e-mailed me yesterday to tell me about her mother's day plans, where she's hosting the celebration and having a mexican themed menu. I wish I could hide in her basement and have her sneak me plates of food.

But enough about my champagne wishes, and food dreams...

She happened to send me a muffin recipe 3 weeks ago, saying it was a household favorite (her 1 year old gobbles them up). Looking over the recipe, it reminded me of the Morning Glory muffins we used to buy at Macrina bakery in Seattle. If you EVER visit Seattle, do-not-miss Macrina bakery. Seriously.

After making my first batch, Tim said the same thing, reminded him of the Morning Glories and I was asked to make them again - immediately. Hey, when you know what you like, go with it! Since then, I've made this recipe 4 times. They are always gone within 3 days. Michelle said she freezes her batches and then can take 1 or 2 out of the freezer, warm them up with a pat of butter and have them ready for breakfast in a flash. I have no idea how she controls herself enough to put them in a freezer and wait to eat them.

Note: I incorrectly used cupcake cups in this picture. Unfortunately, they stick to the paper cups. Instead, grease your muffin tin, and pour the batter in directly.

If you make these muffins, would love to know how your family responds.

Morning Glory Muffins
(do not know the source)

1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour (I sometimes use whole wheat flour, or a combo- turns out great)

3/4 cup flaxseed meal (ground flaxseeds)

3/4 cup oat bran (I use a breakfast muesli, and works well. I think any oat would be OK here)

1 cup brown sugar (I dont like super sweet, so I cut this to 1/2-3/4 cup sugar)

2 tsp baking soda

1 ts baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 cups carrots, shredded (I use 2 medium-large carrots)

2 apples, peeled and shredded

1/2 cup raisins (optional, but I use craisins on michelle's recommendation- delicious!)

1 cup nuts, chopped (I like a mix of nuts and use raw almonds, sunflower seeds, and raw pecans)

3/4 cup milk

2 eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla

Pre-heat oven to 350 (176 in celsius!).

Mix together flour, flaxseed meal, oat bran, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. Stir in carrots, apples, raisins and nuts.

Add milk, eggs and vanilla and stir until everything is moistened. However, do not over mix.

Grease a muffin pan (I use Pam). Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake at 350 F for 15-20 minutes. Yields 15 medium muffins.


You are probably sick of reading by now, but this is worth an extra minute - I promise!

I forgot to mention how healthy these muffins are. I was going on and on about the deliciousness, and I neglected to tell you the secondary reason they are so fantastic! Flaxseeds have an abundance of omega-3 fatty acids. The benefits of flaxseeds have been linked to a reduced risk of heart disease, helping with varicose veins, reducing blood pressure, reducing cholesterol, and acting as a possible benefit to arthritis conditions (click here for more info on omega-3 fatty acids). While you can gain the omega-3 fatty acids in fish (such as salmon), flax are SIX times richer than most fish oils. So go ahead, flax it up!

Guten appetit!