Thursday, October 29, 2009

CEiMB: Pumpkin Pie Muffins



This week's Craving Ellie in My Belly is from Oddball Oven Mitt. She chose for us to bake the Pumpkin Pie Muffins from The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life by Ellie Krieger. These are quick and easy to put together, and you don't even need an electric mixer.

After reading the reviews on the Food Network website, I decided to add a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice to the batter to increase the spiciness. I also substituted 1 1/2 tablespoons of maple syrup for 1 1/2 tablespoons of the molasses because some reviewers said that the molasses was overpowering, and I think the combination of the two gave a great flavor to the muffins. I didn't have any pumpkin seeds on hand, but I did have some chocolate covered sunflower seeds, so I sprinkled them on top instead. The batter actually could make about 13 or 14 muffins if you fill them 2/3 the way full like the recipe suggests. I just decided to fill my muffin cups to the top because I don't mind if the puff out over the top of pan.

The muffins were light and more "cake-like" than "muffin-like", and adding the extra spices really helped, i think. The pumpkin flavor wasn't as prominent as I would have liked, but they were still delicious, more like a spice cake. I would make these again, maybe next time I will add some chopped apples or pears to the batter, I think both of those would make great additions.

Happy Halloween!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love that picture! So cute :) I agree the pumpkin flavor wasn't as strong as I had hoped, though I do like spice cake so it was good either way. Happy Halloween!

Sara said...

That is the best picture! I love it. These muffins were pretty good, I also was looking for more pumpkin flavor.

Pamela said...

I think your festive ghost is adorable. I liked these muffins, too. And your subs/additions sound delicious.

Maria Salomon said...

Great photos!
Loved these muffins.....first time I've ever made them....and I like...=))