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Kara's Journal

kara
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12/15/2005 21:07 #24912

Kara's Pumpkiny Muffins
Category: food
I've been making these every few weeks using a slightly different variation each time. Here are the basics.
Ingredients
1 cup sugar (any kind, though I haven't tried it w/ 4x sugar; you can use less, if desired)
1 cup pumpkin (about 1/2 of one of the smaller cans)
2 eggs
1/2 cup water (I've also tried milk)
several energetic dashes of cinnamon, with a few smaller dashes of cloves. (You can't have enough of these. Believe me, I've tried.)
dash of salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1-1 1/2 c ap flour
chopped nuts, choc chips or raisins (if desired)

Tools
large bowl
spoon(s)
pastry blender, hand mixer or regular mixer
muffin tins and/or bread pans
butter spray
potholders/oven mitts
timer

Steps
Cream together the eggs, sugar and pumpkin in a largish bowl. I use a pastry blender when getting out a mixer will be too much of a hassle. A potato masher will work in a pinch.
Add the dry ingredients to the liquidy mixture. Make sure that the b. powder and b.soda aren't clumpy.
Preheat the over at this point to 350F
Add raisins, nuts or choc chips.
If the batter looks too runny, add in a few more tablespoons of flour.
Pour into a greased muffin tin; fill each muffin mold about 2/3 full.
This mix will make about 12 mini muffins and 6 mini muffins. You can also pour the batter into 3x6 bread loaf pans.
Wipe off extra batter from the sides/top of the muffin/bread tins.
Bake for at least 20 minutes, or, until it passes the toothpick test. I start checking mine after 15 minutes, because I've eaten my share of burned baked goods.

Let them cool for a few minutes before eating. Keep sealed in a ziploc bag or airtight container. I think they'd freeze well, but they generally don't last long enough here to make it to the freezer.

Any requests from the (e:) peeps as to the next type of recipe I should post? A side dish? A hearty meal?
kara - 12/15/05 22:09
You'd have to make the raw pumpkin into a puree. Based on a little googling -
clean off all the strings and seeds; cut the pumpkin into 2-3 inch strips (skin and meat) and place on a baking sheet.
Bake at 400F for about an hour.
Remove the pumpkin from the skins and throw it in a food processor until it's smooth (be careful, it'll be hot).
For this recipe, I'd add a little more sugar.I think using the fresh pumpkin would be healthier, since the canned stuff is overprocessed and loaded with preservatives. That's what makes it so delicious.
theecarey - 12/15/05 22:07
welcome, Kara :)
Any recommendations for a killer sugar cookie (more chewy than crisp) or gingerbread cookie recipe? I have been thinking of giving the "cookies from scratch" thing a try, but there are millions of recipes out there..


paul - 12/15/05 21:11
Can you make it with a real pie pumkin. we always have them because the tortoise eats them, but I never how how to replace them in recipes when comapring to canned pumkin? Any ideas?