Pumpkin Muffins

I got into the baking mood again last night. I didn't take much photos one this one like I did with the cherry pie I made. I was extremely tired from grocery shopping and holding my youngest for most of the day, but I just couldn't help myself!

I found this recipe right after my youngest was born. My mom had come up for a couple of weeks to help us out with our newborn and was going a lot of baking from some of my grandmother's recipes. One of them was pumpkin bread. Now, I have never really liked pumpkin bread until about 7 years ago and boy did I enjoy it immensely! My grandma's recipe uses canned pumpkin for her pumpkin bread, so I was curious to see if there were any recipes out there for muffins. I am a BIG muffin eater in my family, and I was glad I found this recipe. I actually found this recipe on babycenter.com and includes the nutritional facts you will receive when you eat it. It's super easy and taste absolutely wonderful. It's also great if you are diabetic!

Ingredients:

2 egg whites or 1 whole egg

1 TBS of light margarine, or 1 1/2 tsp of margarine + 1 1/2 tsp of water 

3/4 cup + 2 TBS of canned pumpkin (it equates to the whole can)

2/3 cup of brown sugar

3/4 cup skim milk 

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp of baking powder

1/2 tsp of baking soda

1/2 tsp of salt

1/4 tsp of ground ginger

1/2 tsp each of cinnamon and nutmeg

1/2 cup of raisins, optional 

Prep:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, combine egg whites (or a whole egg), margarine, pumpkin, brown sugar, and milk.

2) In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

3) Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until blended. Fold in raisins (or cherries) if desired.

4) Spray muffin pan cooking spray. Pour batter into pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.

5)Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Yields 12 regular size muffins.

Ok, looks simple yes? Well I've made some adjustments to this recipe over the many times I have made this. Instead of skim milk, I used 2% since that is what we drink in our house. I had to play with the margarine because the recipe doesn't say if it needs to be melted or be at room temperature. I've tried it both ways and it does not seem to make a difference. I like the way the margarine mixes when it is at room temperature. I also used dried cherries instead of raisins and it is super yummy! 

Also, it says it yields 12 muffins.... not at all. It makes a little more than that, probably 24 regular sized muffins. I guess it depends on how much you fill the tin. I usually put 2/3 of the batter so that it doesn't overflow my pan when they rise up. I usually get 24 regular sized muffins out of the batter, but last night I did 12 muffins, and 16 mini muffins. It makes great snacks for the kids and I still get my own without having to share, hehe!

The website gives a recipe for a creamy orange spread. I haven't tried the spread myself since I typically don't use orange marmalade with anything, but by all means go for it!

source: http://www.babycenter.com/209_pumpkin-muffins_75320066_1.bc

My eldest with one of the mini pumpkin muffins