Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

So I love October. It's probably, no, definitely, my favorite month. The air gets a little cooler, the beers a little darker and the food a little, well, how do I put this? The food gets better. Mostly because of pumpkin. But also because of pumpkin muffins, pumpkin coffee, pumpkin scones, pumpkin drugs. You know the deal. And, without a doubt, when I finally started baking again (it's been a while if you follow this blog), pumpkin had to be the debut. So pumpkin 'twas.

These little muffies were super tasty, moist and delicious. They weren't super sweet, and in fact, I would even recommend that you use a cream cheese frosting if you want something a little more dessert like. See my recipe for cream cheese frosting here. But, if you're fine with a muffin that is indeed more like a muffin, give it a go friends!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease and flour 18 muffin cups.

2. For the cream cheese filling, in a medium bowl, beat cream cheese until soft. Add egg, vanilla and brown sugar. Beat until smooth, then set aside. 

3. For the streusel topping: In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Add butter and cut it in with a fork until crumbly. Set aside. 

4. For the muffin batter: In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Make a well in the center of flour mixture and add eggs, pumpkin, olive oil and vanilla. Beat together until smooth. 

5. Place pumpkin mixture in muffin cups about 1/2 full. Then add one tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture right in the middle of the batter. Try to keep cream cheese from touching the paper cup. Sprinkle on the streusel topping. 

6. Bake at 375 degrees  for 20 to 25 minutes.

Maple Vanilla Glazed Sweet Bread

I'm shifting my weight back and forth on my seat. I'm looking at my clock, is it 5'o clock yet? My shoulders are getting sore as I can feel my back hunching over. I turn my neck from side to side and I realize I am tapping my foot incessantly on the ground beneath me. My left hand is picking at it's own hangnail. My right hand never moves from the mouse.

I just went to the bathroom, I should stop drinking so much water. Must get up and move. No, have to read an e-mail. Did I already take lunch? Damn it, I did.My eyes are starting to glaze over from staring at the inevitable bright light projected from the eighteen inch computer screen two-feet away from my face. My right leg is falling asleep. Oh God, I am falling asleep. I need coffee. It must be 2:30.

Oh yes, you know this feeling, and you know it well. It's Monday. You're sitting at your desk, and you're hitting the wall. Go to your cafeteria and grab a mug, and maybe tomorrow you can bring along one of these.

Maple Vanilla Glazed Sweet Bread

Dry Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour (9 oz)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup sugar

5 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Wet Ingredients:

1 cup sour cream

1 large egg yolk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Glaze:

1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium bowl, and cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients until flour resembles coarse meal. (One method: Determine 5 tbsp of butter and grate a block of it against the large holes of a box grater. Toss the butter ribbons with the flour mixture, and then use two knives to cut the flour-coated ribbons into 1/4-inch pieces.)

2. In a separate bowl, whisk sour cream, egg yolk and vanilla extract until well blended. Add this to the flour-butter mixture and stir with a fork until dough forms a cohesive ball. Be patient and use a spatula to get the dry bits fully incorporated.

3. Place the sticky dough onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and pat into a disk (or even a square) about 1-inch in height. Cut the dough into wedges but do not separate. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown on top.

4. Prepare glaze: place powdered sugar in a medium bowl, and add water one teaspoon at a time, mixing vigorously until smooth and runny. Drizzle or use a pastry brush to glaze warm sweet bread. Best if served immediately. Store cooled sweet bread scones in an airtight container.

Maple Coconut Granola

Today is a strange day. I am in Boston in my lunch break and it is sunny and rainy and warm and February. That is strange in it of itself. But stranger yet, is where I am going tonight. This evening, I am flying back to good old Fairfax, Virginia, where I will sleep in my adolescent house for the last three nights ever.

That house, which I loathed when we first moved, was a game changer. In that house, I met some of the best friends someone could ask for. I made plenty of mistakes and plenty of advancements. I grew up from a very insecure girl to a slightly less but still awkward teenager to (what I would like to consider) a pretty squared away young lady. I've spent hours laughing, crying, watching movies with my family and gossiping with friends on my big blue couches. I've spent hours sitting at the kitchen table doing crossword puzzles and waiting for things to finish in the oven. Memories, people, memories.

So it will be a tiny bit bittersweet for me. Happy my parents are both blissfully retired and moving into their dream lives, but sad that the place I called home for so many years will no longer be ours. So here is a little taste of home, one that I can count on when things they are a-changing.

Maple Coconut Granola2.5 cups regular rolled oats

1 cup sliced pecans

1/2 cup shelled sunflower seeds

1/4 cup toasted wheat germ

1/4 cup chia seeds

2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

1/2 cup maple syrup (or honey combination)

2 tbsp cooking oil

1/2 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

2 tsp sea salt 

2 tsp cinnamon sugar combination

1. Preheat oven to 300F. Grease a cookie sheet and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the oats, pecans, sunflower seeds, wheat germ, chia seeds and sesame seeds. In another bowl, combine maple/honey and oil. Stir into oats mixture, making sure entire mixture is saturated. 

2. Spread entire mixture evenly in the prepared pan and sprinkle with sea salt and cinnamon/sugar. Bake in oven for 30 minutes and  stir. Add coconut and cook until lightly toasted. Should you choose to add dried fruit, stir it in after you remove granola from oven.

3. Spread on a large piece of foil to cool and store in an airtight container for up to one week.

Pumpkin Spice Coffee Cake Muffins

It is October 3, 2011. October! That means it's time for apple picking, trick-o-treating, and a little piece of heaven I like to call... pumpkin season. As my loyal followers know, I was on quite the pumpkin spree last year. Pumpkin Pie Biscotti, Pumpkin Spice Latte, Pumpkin Bundt Cake, Pumpkin Whoopie Pies with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins, Pumpkin Pie and Stuffed Pumpkin Cupcakes.

Okay, I went nuts. But I love this seasonal gourd. It's wonderful and spicy and warm and fantastic. And once October September August hits, I start thinking of wonderful ways to use it in every recipe possible.

On a lazy Saturday, Julia and I made this recipe, and though it's not the prettiest little thing you ever laid eyes on, it tastes amazingly moist and autumny and I highly recommend it... just maybe not for a party. Julia and I have an issue with cake in the house. Whenever we make it, little kitchen elves come and take bites of the cake all day until it is gone. Solution? Make everything miniature.

Pumpkin Spice Coffee Cake Muffins
For the Topping

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated white sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp cold butter

1/2 cup chopped pecans

For the Cake

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups AP flour

t tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp salt

1. In a small bowl, combine sugars and cinnamon. Cut in the butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in pecans; set aside.

2. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

3. In yet another bowl, combine the sour cream, pumpkin and vanilla; mix well.

4. In a fourth bowl, combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream mixture. Beat on low just until blended. 

5. Spread the batter into 24 greased muffin tins and sprinkle with topping. Bake at 325 degrees F for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.

Supreme Blueberry Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce

For some reason, there are certain to me that are quintessential New England. Sort of like those things you have to do or have when you're up here. For example, when in New Hampshire, go to the white mountains. When in Vermont, go see Ben and Jerry's.

Well, when in Maine, I always always have to have blueberry pancakes. I'm so not a pancake person; give me waffles or an omelet or a bagel anyday. But put me in Maine, and bam. I want need blueberry pancakes. So what's a girl to do? Ummm find a bomb recipe and make it herself.

Supreme Blueberry Pancakes

2 cups Bisquick Mix
1 cup milk
2 eggs
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup blueberries
Blueberry Sauce (optional, recipe follows)


1. Preheat electric griddle or frying pan to medium high heat. Stir first six ingredients until well blended. Gently fold in the blueberries.
2. Use 1/4 cup measure to scoop and pour pancakes onto the hot greased griddle. Cook until little bubbles start to form around the edges of the pancake. Check to see if bottoms are golden brown and then flip. Cook until opposite side is golden brown.
3. Optional toppings: maple syrup, butter, cinnamon and sugar, blueberry sauce

Blueberry Sauce

1/4 cup sugar
1.5 tsp cornstarch
2 tbsp +2 tsp water
1 cup blueberries


1. In a saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Gradually stir in water. Add blueberries, bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve alongside pancakes.

Vegan Granola Bars (Chocolate and Peanut Butter!)

"I don't really do vegan," she scoffs.

"Okay?" I say, a bit on the defense. "Well there is chocolate and peanut butter in the recipe and you wouldn't have even known they were vegan if I didn't tell you."

"That's probably true," she shoots back. "They are pretty good."

Success! I am in no way shape or form a vegan. I'm all for gluten and lactose and dead animals! Too far? Sorry. That was inappropriate. But I do have a point -- I don't shun anything out of my diet.

I don't have an issue with those who do, because it's your boat that has got to float. Not mine. Mine can sink underneath all the good food!

Joking aside, I really don't think I could go vegan. There are too many things I love, but never say never, right?

I happen to intern underneath a sports dietitian in my grad program, and when she offered that I do some recipe tasting for her more particular athletes, I jumped at the opportunity. But vegan granola bars? Oh c'mon!

Well, I loved them. I keep picking them apart, one dried cranberry and chocolate chip at a time. Please, take them away! Or make them. They were super easy and trust me, if you're into chocolate or peanut butter, you can basically consider yourself a sucker for these bars.

They're more like candy bars than granola if you ask me. Like a big chocolate peanut butter cup granola bar. Maybe that should be the name... it would probably get more hits. I guess I'm a hippie-vegan now.

Without further ado...


Vegan Granola Bars
1 cup granola
2 cups old fashion oats
2 tbsp flax seed
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup dried fruit
2 cups chunky peanut butter
1/2 to 3/4 cup light corn syrup


1. Line a 13x9 baking dish with parchment paper and a THIN layer of vegetable oil. In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients (granola-fruit) and mix. Add the peanut butter next, follwed by the corn syrup. You may require a little more corn syrup to help combine everything. Place on the parchment paper and press (use plastic gloves!). Chill for several hours or overnight. Cut into bars and serve. Makes one 13x9 pan (10-20 bars depending on size).

Caramelized Onion and Spinach Quiche

I don't really do well with things that are sad. I don't like that heavy pit at the bottom of my stomach or the lump in the back of my throat I get before I am about to cry. I don't like feeling vulnerable. I don't like feeling unnerved. If something sorrowful pops into my head, I tend to push it right back out. I'm sure most of you can agree to that.

I have had a pretty cushy life, so to speak. Most of my loved ones are alive and well. I have great friends and family and a job and a master's degree on the way. My mom and dad let me live at home until I have enough money to get off my feet. I've never had any major illness and all my injuries are trivial from sport.

I've never suffered that one great loss that will change you forever. And I am petrified of that day. Why so somber, you ask? There are only two blogs that I read religiously, and one of the writers has been posting for the past few days about a horrible accident that her older sister was in. Today, she lost her sister.

I think of Vanessa, the 7-year-old who was not at all happy when I was born four days before her birthday. The only person in the entire world who can relate to my upbringing, my sister. I can't imagine saying goodbye to her.

Two of my best friends have lost their fathers within the past few years. I think of my Dad, and remember how I complain that he talks too much or how he always insists on repeating things over and over. But when I got a phone call two New Years Eve's ago telling me my strong Dad had been hit by a car, or when I got to the scene and saw how feeble he looked, I remember begging God that if my dad was okay, I would never complain again.

How quickly those requests come and go, and the trivial complaints return. In times of other's tragedy, I try to put my insignificant problems into perspective, and tonight, I think I'm doing okay.

Tonight, I am posting a spinach quiche recipe (adapted from Cooking Light) that comforts the soul. In times of grieving, I have found that one of the best ways to show you care is food, and though I can't send this across the country to Monet and her family, I will certainly be sending prayers and well wishes her way, and to anyone who has lost for that matter.


Caramelized Onion and Spinach Quiche
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 cups chopped onion
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups frozen Southern-style hash brown potatoes, thawed
1 (11-ounce) can refrigerated soft breadstick dough
Cooking spray
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
1 cup milk
4 eggs
1 1/4 cups crumbled feta cheese


1. Preheat oven to 350°. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add onion, sugar, and salt; cook for 30 minutes or until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Stir in potatoes, and cook for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from heat.
2. Unroll dough, separating into strips. Working on a flat surface, coil one strip of dough around itself in a spiral pattern (like a snail). Add second strip of dough to the end of the first strip, pinching ends together to seal; continue coiling the dough. Repeat procedure with the remaining dough strips. Cover and let dough rest for 10 minutes. Roll dough into a 12-inch circle, and fit into a 10-inch deep-dish pie plate coated with cooking spray.
3. Spread potato mixture in bottom of prepared crust, and top with spinach. Combine milk, eggs, and cheese; pour the milk mixture over the spinach. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until set, shielding crust with foil after 50 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Homemade Granola

I trudge down the stairs, kicking my backpack out of my path when I turn the corner. Another long day come and gone, and I am exhausted.

My bare feet hit the hardwood and I am surrounded by the smell of cinnamon, sugar and honey. I take a deep breath and inhale as I smile at one of life's simple pleasures: freshly baked anything.

While upstairs in my room, I am a slave to George Mason University, spending countless hours flipping pages and squinting at my laptop into the wee hours of the morning.

Downstairs in my kitchen, I decompress. My usually-very-structured self lets her hair down and I breathe. If you knew me, you would know if I have twelve hours in a day I fill eleven of them to the brim. When I cook, though I do enjoy the company of a friend or my mother, I do it for me.

While we all know I adore a monstrous brownie or three tier cake, there are also moments where my body needs something earthy. Something that will fuel me instead of just fill me.

And for that, I present you this granola. What starts as a lonley two cups of old fashioned oats evolves into a crunchy, sweet and salty combination sure to become a star on top of your yogurt, sprinkled on your cereal or grabbed in full handfuls straight from the container. The good thing about this recipe, adapted from Better Homes and Gardens, is that you can change things here and there to fit your taste.

I happen to be on a major sea salt kick, so with every bite of sweet honey and spicy cinnamon, you have the contrast of big salty crystals. Divine!


Homemade Granola
2 cups regular rolled oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup shelled sunflower seeds
1/4 cup toasted wheat germ
1/4 cup ground flax seeds
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
1/2 cup honey
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 cup dried fruit (we used golden and regular raisins and cranberries)
2 tsp sea salt


1. Preheat oven to 300F. Grease a cookie sheet and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the oats, almonds, sunflower seeds, wheat germ, flax seeds and sesame seeds. In another bowl, combine honey and oil. Stir into oats mixture, making sure entire mixture is saturated.
2. Spread entire mixture evenly in the prepared pan and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake in oven for 30-35 minutes or until light brown, stirring at 20 minutes. Remove from oven after cooked and stir in dried fruit.
3. Spread on a large piece of foil to cool and store in an airtight container for up to one week.

I am off to a Mary Kay makeup party, oh sheesh. Happy weekend!

Smoked Salmon Egg Sandwich

I've been cooking a lot lately. Cooking for one. Solo fun.

Who am I kidding? It's so much better cooking for others. Geez. The only good thing about cooking for one is that I can make whatever I want and if it sucks, I don't have to be embarrassed.

Well, this was not embarassing.

The thing that is great about this is all the elements. What I once might have viewed as just a sandwich becomes a combination of crunchy toasted bread, creamy dill spread, the smokiness of the salmon and the silkiness of an egg. I'm so game. 

I'm trying to eat healthier. I'm always trying to eat healthier, actually. Well, this satisfies that desire. It's adapted from Cooking Light, but I added a little this and that and I felt like I was in my own little Jewish sandwich shop. Hi Naomi! (And half Matt and half Melly). So L'Chayim!

Smoked Salmon Egg Sandwich
4 cups water
1 tablespoon white vinegar
4 large eggs
1/2 cup (2 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
2 tablespoons minced red onion
2 tablespoon chopped dill
3/8 teaspoon kosher salt
4 (1-ounce) slices rye bread, toasted
1 cup fresh spinach
4 ounces smoked wild salmon
1/4 teaspoon black pepper


1. Bring water and vinegar to a simmer in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Crack one egg and slowly add it to the water (in one piece as muchas possible). Repeat with remaining eggs. Simmer 3 minutes or until desired degree of doneness. (You can cook the eggs longer or shorter depending on how runny you like them. I'm not too runny-of-a-gal.)
2. Combine cheese, onion, dill, and 1/8 teaspoon salt; spread 2 tablespoons cheese mixture over each bread slice. Top each serving with 1/4 cup spinach and 1 ounce salmon. Remove eggs from pan with a slotted spoon; top each sandwich with 1 egg. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper.

Tribute to Peanut Butter and Oatmeal: Oatmeal in a Jar

It's before 7:00 on a Friday and I am posting! The joys of working at 5:00 in the morning.

This post is really just because I'm a genius...or because I hope you too can find this idea useful.

I love oatmeal.

I thought I loved it more than anyone until I saw this girl's blog. She may/may not know that I always check to see if she has any new good ideas for my morning glory breakfast.

She usually does.

Now, if you've been reading The Messie Kitchen, and I'm sure you have, you know that my roomies are out of town for another week. This means their overworked and underpaid (well... not really) daughter is buying her own groceries and therefore, using everything until it's rotten, soggy or inedible. (Not really... I'm finicky about that kind of thing).

Point is, I'm trying to be frugral.

I love peanut butter. You've seen my creations. Just for fun, I'll show you them again.

So. Put those two together. Peanut butter and oatmeal. This is my favorite breakfast combination of all time. Crunchy, creamy, natural, or flavored. I love it.


And you can imagine my Dismay as my jar of Skippy got down to the last few scoopfuls. What the heck can you do about that? Use a spoon to dig out every last bite? I mean, you could do that.

But how about oatmeal in a jar?

Genius.


What ya need:
One Jar of almost finished peanut butter (or almond butter, nutella, etc)
One packet instant oatmeal
Hot water or milk


What ya do:
1. Boil water (or heat up the milk, if that's what you use)
2. Pour the uncooked oats into the jar.
3. Pour the water into the oats and stir,. The nut butter will melt as your mixture thickens. You may need to add a little more water if it stiffens up.


So simple, and not a "real" post, but something you actually might use! Happy Friday!!!!

Pumpkin Pie Biscotti

I like coffee. A lot. It’s my only vice, I promise.

Well, that and ice cream. And chocolate. And most sweets.

Okay, so I have a lot. But coffee is really it. The big one. And day after day, there is nothing more satisfying than my first gulp of warm goodness.

The debate goes on about what treats go best with coffee. A scone perhaps? Or maybe a muffin? As of about a month ago, I would have agreed with you. And though I’ve seen many people dunk an oblong semi-biscuit semi-cookie into their mugs, I had never tried it. And I wasn’t interested.

Is it soft? No.

Can I nuke it in the microwave? No.

Is it sweet? No.

Nope, not interested. But curious. So one day, as I sat in a little café, I tried it. A double chocolate chip biscotti—okay. I liked it. It got all chewy when I dunked it. I can dig it. Then, tried a caramel macchiato one. That was the one that won me over.

The white chocolate! The subtle sweetness! The mixture of textures! Sold.

And, well, it’s officially autumn, so why not make my new found treat season appropriate? Done and done.

My house smells like pumpkin pie. My coffee pot is steaming. I’m in heaven.

Pumpkin Pie Biscotti

What ya need:

3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/2 cups firmly packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup mashed canned pumpkin

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1-1/4 cup macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped

1-1/2 cup white melting chocolate wafers

What ya do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice in a large bowl; stir well.

2. In another bowl, combine pumpkin, eggs, and vanilla, stirring well with a wire whisk. Slowly add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. (Mixture will be very crumbly; it will gradually become moist after stirring.)

3. Melt butter n a large skillet over medium heat; add macadamia nuts. Cook, stirring constantly, until nuts are browned. Remove from heat and cool completely. Knead or gently stir cooled nuts into dough.

4. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and divide into 2 portions. Lightly flour hands and shape the uncooked biscotti into the lengths of a cookie sheet, about 15 inches by 6 inches. Place each piece of dough on a separate cookie sheet. 

5. Bake for 23 minutes; cool logs 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300. Cut each log diagonally into 1/2" slices using a serrated knife. Place slices on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 15 minutes. Cool completely on wire racks. And top with melted white chocolate, if desired (you should do this)

For a step by step how-to, check out one of my previous guest posts!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins (made healthier!)

I'm looking out my window, feeling the subtle breeze and I can tell...fall is coming.

Fall is my time of year. The weather is perfect. The cuisine is comforting. All my favorite holidays are ahead, including my birthday, next Friday. Like I said, it's my time of year.

Few things make me happier than when the leaves start changing. 

Few things, I say, other than pumpkin. 

Pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin coffee...I'm surprised I'm not orange by Thanksgiving.

As so many foodies have said before me, pumpkin is an ingredient pigeonholed to October and November. Do you ever see a pumpkin pie at Easter or reach for a piping hot pumpkin spice latte in July? No.

But why is it, my friends, that we get so excited when it is pumpkin time? We love it. We go pumpkin nuts. 

I hated pumpkin for many years, but now I can totally say, after trying a pumkpin cheesecake, that I am a convert. And since last December, when Starbucks traded pumpkin for peppermint, I've longed for the spicy comfort of this seasonal standout.

Well, I will wait no longer. Fall is upon us, Halloween is seven weeks away and it's pumpkin time. So whip out a can and make these chocolate chip pumpkin muffins, and feel pretty good about them, because I've made them healthier for you. 

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins 

What ya need (for 14 muffins)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 eggs

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/4 cup water

1.5 cups AP flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

What ya do:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin tins with paper lining.

2. Mix sugar, oil and eggs. Add the pumpkin and water and continue to mix. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, spices and salt.

3. Pour wet mixture into dry and stir together. Don't overmix these little guys! Slowly fold in the chocolate chips, using up to 1 cup if you prefer

4. Fill cups 2/3 full of batter and bake in a preheated oven for about 20 minutes!

BOO!!!!!

Oh and guess what? Pumpkin galore recipes comin' your way!! And a giveaway, very soon!!! Keep on comin back!