Pumpkin makes a nutritious addition to fall menus. I'm sure that I have mentioned this before, but I love pumpkin recipes; I just can't get enough of it. I'm planning savory food for the cold days ahead, from fragrant morning breakfasts to warm, delicious, inviting suppers. Don't get any ideas though, we'll have cereal in between those meals. So let me begin by sharing my breakfast pumpkin muffins which of course, you may adjust to meet your pallet & health needs. I include a link to the gluten free version of this recipe on this post, so read on.
Ingredients:2 cups cooked pumpkin puree, fresh or canned
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
(optional) for extra flavor I added 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, pumpkin pie spice and salt. Mix these dry ingredients.
In a separate bowl, beat together the pumpkin puree, vegetable oil, and eggs. Stir pumpkin mixture into flour mixture until it is smooth. You may want to use an electric mixture to do so.
Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups, if possible you may use a ladle. When all the cups are filled, place the pans into the oven and bake for 20- 27 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean. This assures that the muffins are done.
When the muffins are done, remove them from the pan and set them down. This makes for a sweet after school snack for kids.
At our home, some of us use butter, pumpkin butter or even salted caramel sauce to add some richness to our muffins. Give the recipe a try, I'm sure pumpkin lovers will enjoy it. For gluten free muffins try this version.
Enjoy!