In the spirit of being honest, I figure I should tell you that these muffins are confused. Their ingredient and nutritional profile pushes them towards the cupcake camp, but then they have so many odd ingredients that the cupcake camp didn’t want them. But that’s ok, because I wanted them. I still want them. I have a massive bag of them in my freezer, ready to supplement my bagged lunches for months.
So, the other day I was making pumpkin muffins. But I ran out of pumpkin, so I added a banana, which turned out to be a better idea than I had anticipated. The pumpkin recipe called for all sorts of tasty pie-inspired spices, but the banana whispered “add chocolate.” Never one to say no to a talking banana, I did both. Again, this proved to be a much better idea than anybody’s taste imagination would have guessed.
Pumpkin etc. Muffins
3/4 cup pumpkin purée
1 banana, mashed
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup butter, melted & cooled
2/3 cup water
2 cups dark brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract3½ cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda (USA / Canada)
1½ tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground cloves
1 cup milk chocolate chipsPreheat the oven to 350ºF and line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners. Grease and flour a small loaf tin.
Mix your wet and dry ingredients together in separate bowls. Combine, adding the wet to the dry, and stir until just combined—don’t over-mix!
Use an ice cream scoop to fill the muffin tins. I found a had just enough to make a mini loaf as well, but you could also make another 4–6 muffins.
Bake for 20–30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the muffins comes out clean.
Tada! What’s your favourite thing to do with pumpkin? Remember, every post you comment on is an entry into the monthly draw!
