More pumpkins, more snow


I shouldn’t have said anything about pumpkins and snow being a bad mix. We’ve had more snow in the last week than DC, my former home, typically sees in an entire winter. And the high temps since Thursday have barely broken the 30s. Despite it not seeming much like October outside (Morgane wanted to read Christmas books instead of Halloween ones the other day – “but Mom, it looks like Christmas outside!”), I’ve pushed on with the pumpkins. This weekend, my greatest accomplishment may in fact be finally producing some baked goods that are coffee-shop worthy, vs. the typical messy, but usually edible, items whose appearance I always blame on the altitude. Yes indeed, my pumpkin muffins turned out so well that I even took a picture.

Try ’em for yourself:

Pumpkin Muffins

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose whole wheat flour
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin
  • 1/3 cup buttermilk
  • 1/3 cup canola oil
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • Granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 400. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients in a medium bowl (add a cup of golden raisins if you’re into those); stir well with a whisk. Combine brown sugar and everything else (thru eggs) in another bowl. Mix everything together in one bowl and stir until just moist. Spoon batter into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 400 for 15-20 minutes. Remove muffins from pan right away and cool on a wire rack.

If you’ve got any good pumpkin recipes, now is the time to share…