Baking with mashed pumpkin adds moisture to batters and doughs, making breads, cakes and muffins healthier because of you can cut down on oil and butter, not to mention the betacarotene, but don’t let that reason alone convince you. Pumpkin adds enormous rich flavor as well.
I’m going to admit to something autumnally treasonous. I am not a fan of pumpkin pie. Please don’t hurt me. It’s a texture thing. That doesn’t mean I don’t like the flavors though so I prefer to put pumpkin in blondies, cookies, muffins, bread and cake. Adding pumpkin pie spice to this muffin batter gave me the joy I imagine folks find in pumpkin pie without that icky wobbly pie filling to endure. And the whole house smelled like Thanksgiving and Christmas while they baked. Win-win.
I can’t find pumpkin pie spice here in Dubai, so I used this recipe here for the batter and made up my own mix of spices. I’d say it was a successful substitution.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups or 190g all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
(or 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves and 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup or 225g sugar
1/2 15 oz can or almost one cup or 215g pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 eggs
1/4 cup or 60ml canola oil
1/4 cup or 60ml orange juice
Method
Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 12-cup muffin pan by greasing it thoroughly, spraying with non-stick spray or lining it with paper muffin cups.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, spices, baking soda, salt and sugar and stir well.
In another bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, oil, orange juice and eggs.
Pour your wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold them together until just mixed.
Bake in the preheated oven about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Cool for a few minutes and then remove the muffins and put on a rack to cool completely.
Enjoy!
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These look wonderful and I think they will just be the ticket for Halloween dessert!
ReplyDeleteI love anything and everything pumpkin! These look perfect!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the texture of pumpkin pie although I'm a big fan of pumpkin - roasted, mashed, grated all work. The orange juice in this recipe is nice too - perfect for Halloween.
ReplyDeleteYou make a dessert for Halloween?! We just used to stuff our faces with candy. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Laura. They were delicious and not at all wobbly like pie. Which was the best part.
ReplyDeleteI will eat pumpkin and all all ways, Nancy. I have even been known to have a quick bite of someone else's piece of pie in the spirit of trying it again to see if I've changed my mind. As long as there is pecan pie, I'm not even tempted by the pumpkin.
ReplyDeleteI'm 50/50 on the pumpkin pie. The texture is OK, but it wasn't a staple around Thanksgiving in my Polish family gathering. We had things like beets and vegetable salad and apple tarte instead at our Thanksgiving feast. I have grown to like homemade pumpkin pie, though, or grown to love how appreciative my husband is when I make it! The muffins look great! I bought a jarrahdale pumpkin at the pumpkin patch last weekend and can't wait to use it for pies, muffins and smoothies! It is native to Australia and green-gray - really neat!
ReplyDeleteI love baking with pumpkin because it's makes things so moist...and delicious!
ReplyDeleteI'm not a big fan of pumpkin pie either, but it's mainly because most I've had don't have a good pie crust. I do love the flavors as well, so these muffins are going on the to-bake list soon.
ReplyDeleteMe too, Anita! It's like applesauce that way.
ReplyDeleteMy elder daughter is in charge of pie crust at our house, Carla. I have taught her well. So the crust is always lovely and flakey but I do know what you mean. Let me know how they turn out. I am sure you will like them.
ReplyDeleteWe never had it growing up either so pumpkin pie has been a relatively recent addition to the family table, joining the repertoire when my daughters started baking it. I've never heard of jarrahdale pumpkins. Must go look that up. Pleasing the husband is a worthwhile reason to bake pumpkin pie! Easy brownie points. :)
ReplyDelete