Monday, October 22, 2007

Pumpkin Muffins, Bread, and almost Cupcakes


Pumpkin season is here! And it's finally getting cool in Houston. It's fall! Time for lots of squash. :) These are my favorite spicy pumpkin muffins (or bread). Cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon combine perfectly with the pumpkin, getting even better the day after baking. And so moist! I usually cut back on the oil and use buttermilk and or applesauce to fill in. Today, I added dried cranberries, but they're also great with walnuts. This is such a versatile recipe. And they freeze wonderfully. I always freeze one of the loaves or several muffins.


I had every intention of turning these into cupcakes with an orange-clove cream cheese frosting for the Cupcake Hero event hosted by Laurie of Quirky Cupcakes and Stefani of the Cupcake Project but they didn't make it that far. Next time!! They're so good to grab on-the-go for breakfast that I just didn't get to the frosting. Anyway, I used pastry flour (part cake flour) to make them lighter and more cupcake-like. For bread, I think I like the texture of all-purpose. But yum! I'll have to make more for cupcakes! Continue for pumpkin recipe.

Spicy Pumpkin Bread

by Rose

2 cups sugar ( I usually use part brown sugar--can cut down to 1 2/3 cups if just making it for myself)
2/3 cup oil (or even 1/2 if you're really dieting :) --then substitute the rest with buttermilk to equal 1 cup)
1/3 cup buttermilk
1-2 T applesauce
3 large eggs
1 can solid pack pumpkin (16 ounce)
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (optional but good!)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour two 9x5x3-inch loaf pans.
Beat sugar and oil in large bowl to blend.
Mix in eggs and pumpkin.
Sift flour, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, salt and baking powder into another large bowl.
Stir into pumpkin mixture in 2 additions. Mix in walnuts, if desired.
Divide batter equally between prepared pans.
Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes.
Transfer to racks and cool 10 minutes. Using sharp knife, cut around edge of loaves. Turn loaves out onto racks and cool completely.

16 comments:

La Cuisine d'Helene said...

Nice combination, did you use fresh pumpkin to make the muffins?

Rose said...

Helene, I didn't use fresh pumpkin this time. I've been on vacation and will post the recipe soon! Thanks! :)

lizzyandpop said...

Hi Rose - I'd love the recipe for the pumpkin muffins.

Sugar said...

I'd also love to see the recipe. I just looked at many others and yours look so amazing, after seeing them I can not settle!

Rose said...

Sorry for the delay in posting the recipe. This is a good one!

Anonymous said...

wow! this bread is so moist and delectable. don't know if my two loaves will make it to thanksgiving dinner! may just have to bake more. thanks for the recipe.

TimmyAndKatie said...

Rose- you never mentioned the buttermilk after the list of ingredients? did I miss something?

McBoda said...

Wow Wow Wow Wow Wow, this bread is phenomenal. We used fresh pumpkins and freshly milled wheat. I don't think I'll need to make pumpkin pie ever again, this recipe takes care of it all.
Thank you for sharing.

Anonymous said...

I stumbled upon your site after Googling "pumpkin muffins" because I have a craving for them for breakfast tomorrow. It's cold and nasty outside and I want something warm and comforting. I can hardly wait to try them as well as many of your other recipes. I very much appreciate you including photos of each food so we know what it's supposed to turn out like. As an amateur photographer I am curious as to what kind of camera you use to achieve such beautiful close-ups, if you don't mind sharing that info.? Thanks so much for providing such a wonderful resource for fellow home cooks.

Anonymous said...

This turned out to be an all-time favorite with everyone in my family! I have to make them now about every two weeks and keep them in the freezer for quick breakfasts or snacks for my boys, who love them! We also made them and delivered plates to all our neighbors on Christmas Eve. Thank you so much for sharing!

Rose said...

Thanks Susie Q! I really love the spices in these. As for my photos, I'm definitely an amateur! I have a Canon powershot G7 camera and always try to use natural light and the macro setting for my photos. But I really don't know much about photography. Thanks for your comments! :)

Ericka said...

Hi, I just found your site when I googled pumpkin muffins!
What can I use instead of buttermilk???
Thanks so much!

Rose said...

Ericka--You can substitute yogurt or try sour cream. If I don't have buttermilk on hand, I usually add 1 T lemon juice to a cup of milk and let it stand several minutes. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Hi, I just made these pumpkin muffins with my 2.5 yo daughter and they turned out out really really good!!
Thanks! The last time I made muffins it was more mushy inside but I love the texture of these. Great blog, I'll have to check out more of your recipes.

Neomi

Anonymous said...

I just tried this recipe for a morning breakfast treat and they turned out great! I substituted Goat yogurt (Trader Joes) because some of us are dairy(cow) intolerant. I doubled the batch using one 16 oz. can of pumpkin, and 16oz of apple sauce, and added raisins to some and white chocolate chips to others. We made them into muffins and they only took 20 minutes. Thanks for the easy recipe.

Anonymous said...

These are very good as muffins! I used sour cream instead of buttermilk (thanks for the tip!), added brewed coffee to loosen the consistancy and small chunks of apples to the batter. Delicious!