It's Pumpkin Muffin Time!
Usually, the recipes I share are only twin-related in that they're my favorite recipes and I have twins... admittedly not much of a connection, but I love loving people with food, even if it's only via the internet. This recipe, however, is one of my girls' favorites, and I was introduced to it when my friend Dana delivered pumpkin muffins to us while we were spending our days at the hospital with our twins in the NICU. They were such a yummy, homemade treat, and were the perfect thing to munch on for breakfast, for a snack, for any reason. Nearly nine years later, they are still a favorite.
I tried and tried to get some pretty pictures of these, but they just aren't that pretty. I guess you could dress them up with some cream cheese frosting (maybe orange-cream cheese or cinnamon cream cheese...) but then they wouldn't be quite as simple... or as healthy.
The girls love these so much that they ask for them year-round. Added bonus: No egg in the mix means that they can eat as much of the batter as they please.
Another great thing about making these muffins: There's more than one way to skin this cat. You can use a yellow cake mix and add the spices, or you can substitute a spice cake mix and have even fewer ingredients to mess with. I've also had these with chocolate chips in them - chocolate and pumpkin is a surprisingly tasty combination.
You might be able to make enough of these to freeze them, but I wouldn't count on them lasting that long.
Pumpkin Muffins
1 yellow cake mix (dry/unprepared)*
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1 15 oz. can pure pumpkin puree
1 egg - optional (Adding an egg will make the muffins fluffier and less sticky.)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease muffin pan or use cupcake liners.
*I suggest sifting the cake mix or shaking it through a sieve to eliminate any lumps.
Mix dry ingredients, then stir in pumpkin puree and egg (if you choose to use one). Divide evenly among muffin cups. Bake 20-25 minutes.
Makes 12.
Happy fall, y'all!
