Pumpkin Muffins
You know all those fall recipes that call for some pumpkin puree, but you don’t need the entire can of pumpkin puree, so you put the rest into a glass container in the fridge and then you wonder what the heck to do with it? I’m here to help. I had some pumpkin leftover after I made my Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip last week, so I was trying to brainstorm what else I could do with it. Hello pumpkin muffins! These muffins are great for breakfast or after school snacks. Two of them are the perfect serving size IMO, and they are much lighter and fluffier than the super dense bakery muffins you’d get at a place like Dunkin’ Donuts (I’m not throwing shade – I love those muffins and I’m not afraid to admit it). But these muffins won’t weigh you down, and I like that about them.
Mike and I have spent the last two weekends straight hiking the AT in the Berkshires and I have been loving every single minute of our hikes. This past weekend we hiked a ~12 mile section from the Great Barrington town line north to Tyringham. It was my favorite MA AT section yet. I know that’s not saying much, as this is only the third section we’ve done, but it was beautiful. The terrain was gentle. The weather was beautiful. It’s not incredibly populated out there, so most of the other hikers we are seeing on the trail lately are south-bounding thru hikers, so that’s also really interesting. Sometimes the thru hikers are a bit starved for human interaction and news from the outside world. Last weekend, the first thru-hiker we passed talked to us for about five minutes about dispensaries nearby. Neither Mike nor I partake, but if you see a billboard in western Massachusetts there’s about a 99% chance it will be for a dispensary. We’ve driven by so many at this point that we now consider ourselves experts on the subject matter.
This past weekend, after we finished our hike and got back to the parking lot on the north end where we left Mike’s bicycle, I had an unusual amount of energy left for someone who had just hiked 12 miles. The parking lot was pretty much just a dirt patch and it didn’t look like an awesome place to hang out in, so I decided to walk another mile or so into town. I knew that there would be some nice public place there that I could hang out in to wait for Mike to come back to pick me up. On my walk I passed a house where there was a middle aged man outside walking in my general direction with a beverage (alcoholic or not, it was in a can and I didn’t get a good look) in hand. I didn’t think I was in any sort of real danger, but I did keep him within eyesight, and so I was completely alarmed when the man started making an insane breathing noise and running straight toward me. I almost started running away when I realized that it was actually a pug charging me making the insane breathing noises, since that’s really all you can count on pugs to do (sorry not sorry), and the man was chasing the pug because the pug was charging me. So, crises averted. Both the pug and then the man caught up to me, and I found out that the pug really just wanted me to pet him, the pug started running around in the street like the madman he was and almost got hit by several cars…the works. It was a bit of an odd situation that I just may find myself in again some day soon, because the next time we continue our hike on the AT in the Berkshires I want to end up in that cute little town again. Off-the-beaten-path hiking is the best. It really, REALLY is.
Next time I head out into the woods for a late summer / early fall hike, I’m bringing MUFFINS!
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Line a muffin tin with 12 parchment paper or silicone muffin liners and set aside.
- Add the butter, whisked eggs, vanilla extract, pumpkin puree, and maple syrup to a large bowl. Beat on medium high for one minute until combined completely. Add the almond flour, arrowroot flour, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt to the bowl and beat on low until just combined. Use a large spoon to fold in the chocolate chips.
- Distribute the muffin mixture into the muffin tin (I find an ice cream scoop works best for this). The cups should be nearly full. Smooth out the tops with the back of a spoon and sprinkle some maple sugar on the tops of each muffin if desired.
- Bake at 350° F for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry (melted chocolate is okay!). Let cool and enjoy! Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to five days. Enjoy leftover muffins at room temperature or slightly warmed for best taste.
