Friday Faves – The Busty Baker makes Pumpkin Muffins
Today I’m featured a blogger after my own heart on Friday Fav. Danae from The Busty Baker blogs about baked goods. Lots and lots of baked goods. And they’re all right up my alley! If you’re looking for another baking blog to inspire you, definitely check it out. She posts very approachable recipes and lots of cupcakes!
Let’s be honest. How many of us went a little crazy this past fall, stocking up on canned pumpkin every time we went to the grocery store? After the previous year’s shortage, how many of us loaded our cart up the first time we saw it grace the shelves, hoarding it on the off-chance that we’d never see it again and we’d spend Thanksgiving with a store-bought pie because it’s all we could find? Oh. That was just me? Well, maybe this recipe is a little out of season then. But for the closet hoarders out there that are a little ashamed to admit that there are still 6 cans of pumpkin puree collecting dust in the pantry, it’s time to break them out and make some muffins!
For those who don’t know me, I’m a retail slave by day and a wannabe baker by night. Actually, no. That’s wrong. It’s the exact opposite most days, since I work the night shift throughout the week. The one exception? Saturday. After spending my entire week getting off work at nearly midnight, I drag myself out of bed to be to work at 7am on a day that most everyone else gets to sleep in. I’m already halfway through my day by the time I would normally wake up throughout the week! Most Saturday mornings, I’m not only sleep deprived, but STARVING. The measly bowl of cereal I have when I wake up doesn’t last long, and by mid-morning, I’m ready to devour small children.
Normally I walk myself down to the café in the store for a latte and either a muffin or scone. But lately I’ve been trying to stick to a strict budget, so I’ve started bringing my own breakfast with me. (Plus, when the “healthiest” thing in the bake case is the rice krispie treat, it’s probably a sign that I shouldn’t eat any of it.) I’ve been whipping up a batch of my own scones or muffins, throwing them in the freezer, and pulling one out every Saturday to take to work with me. Much more budget friendly, and at least I know what’s in them!
I’m down to my last scone this week, so it’s time to whip up something new. I’ve been shuffling those darn pumpkin cans around the pantry for months now, so I thought, why not be even more budget friendly and use what I’ve already got to make something. Who cares that it’s May and pumpkin is a “fall flavor”. It’s still delicious! Especially in these muffins. They’re moist and tender, with just a hint of spice, and a light sugary crunch on top. I’ve already eaten about 4 so far and I’m ready to go back and make another batch because I have a feeling these won’t be strictly Saturday morning muffins. These may end up being every morning muffins. So go ahead and dust off one of those cans you’ve got hanging out in the back of the pantry. You’ll find more in the fall. Unless I get to them first.
Pumpkin Muffins
Yield: ~16-18 muffins
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp plus 1/4 tsp cinnamon, divided
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tspnutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup pumpkin puree (about half of a 15oz can)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F. Line 2 standard muffin tins with paper liners, or spray with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and salt; set aside.
In a separate large bowl, whisk together eggs, 1 cup sugar, pumpkin puree, and vegetable oil until smooth. Gradually add in dry ingredients, whisking until just combined.
Divide batter into prepared pans, filling each cup about 2/3 of the way full, about 2 heaping tablespoons each. In a small bowl, combine remaining 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Sprinkle sugar mixture on top of batter in each cup.
Bake, rotating halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs, about 16 to 20 minutes. Allow to cool in pans for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Recipe adapted from Erin Cooks
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I’m not a huge mushroom fan, but the cranberry risotto sounds absolutely fantastic! Thanks for the idea, Katie :).
What a great recipe Katie!
I am in awe of your description of mushrooms. that recipe is awesome and so is the idea to cook them in butter and red wine! if non mushroom lovers are not converted after this post, there is no help for them!!
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I am a huge mushroom lover. This recipe sounds wonderful!
I am a HUGE fan of mushrooms, I put them in everything! This will probably be dinner tonight!
I’m definitely with you in the first camp, though I will tell you – I’ve converted the boyfriend into a semi-mushroom lover, so maybe there is a person who lies a bit in between after all! This looks heavenly.
I am definitely not a mushroom lover but this recipe looks amazing!
Katie can make these for me anytime! Great recipe and great guest post!
OMG this combines so many of my favorite things into one dish! I’ve already added it to next week’s menu. Thanks so much for introducing me to a fun new blog!
I’m on the verge of being a mushroom lover – when raw the texture creeps me out but I’ve discovered I love the flavor and like them when cooked. I would love to eat this dish!
It is bad that I thought the sneak peak picture looked like mashed potatoes? That can only mean the risotto must be extra creamy!
It is bad that I thought the sneak peak picture looked like mashed potatoes? I think that just means this risotto must be extra creamy!
Thanks Jen for including me in your Friday Faves and for saying such nice things about my writing! This dish was fun to make and was really good on a cold winter night. Thanks all for the comments! Even those from the mushroom haters 🙂
Aren’t portobello mushrooms the best? So many different things you can do with them!
What more Can I say, a combination of my favorite ingredients… Mushroom and risotto! It’s nice to see a lot of mushroom recipe’s this past few days.
What a creative recipe, I love it! Definitely the perfect way to kick off your cool Friday Favs feature 🙂