Pumpkin muffins!

One of the things I miss about living in St. Louis is that we don't really have seasons here. We just have hot and less hot. Part of the fun of the changing seasons was the different foods and flavors that came with it. Pumpkin is probably hands down my favorite fall flavor. When I was little I used to be able to eat an entire pumpkin pie by myself and it wouldn't really be a Thanksgiving if I didn't.
Another of my favorite things from St. Louis was the Bread Company (Panera). Their pumpkin muffins were always something I loved to eat every fall. Sadly I haven't been able to have a good pumpkin muffin for a long time. I was really excited when one of my friends suggested a pumpkin muffin recipe from Smitten Kitchen. I decided to give it a try this weekend when my craving for pumpkin had reached its peak this weekend. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it tasted really close to the Panera pumpkin muffins. I think next time I make it I'll try topping it with a little bit of sifted powdered sugar to make it that much closer to the real thing.


Pumpkin Muffins


Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 1/2 cup flour
1 15 oz can of pumpkin
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp all spice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
For topping: 1 tbsp sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon


Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Put muffin cups into the muffin pan.
Place the pumpkin, oil, eggs, spices, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk until combined. Add in the flour and whisk until it is just combined.
In a small bowl mix together the cinnamon and sugar.
Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.
Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture on top of the muffins.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a knife/skewer comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for 5 minutes and then transfer the muffins to a cooling rack.