Fall season is in full swing and I have yet to grow tired of pumpkin. I’ve been busy making pumpkin pies, pumpkin ravioli, pumpkin risotto, roasted pumpkin seeds…you name it. And, out of all of the pumpkin recipes that I’ve created, this muffin recipe is definitely one of my favorites. I call these muffins “muffins”, but they are more like a dessert or a cupcake (I only call them muffins so that I don’t judge myself too harshly when eating one for breakfast). They are sweet and spicy, and the butterscotch plays well against the pumpkin spices that I recently picked up at my favorite spice and kitchenware shop, Arome, in Hood River. These muffins are so good it’ll be hard to stop at one, but not to worry. Now that we’re into baggy sweater season, no one will know!
If you haven’t already, go out and buy yourself a pie pumpkin, aka sugar pumpkin. They’re the small orange pumpkins, not the big carving pumpkins. Bring the pumpkin home, cut it in half, scoop out the seeds and flesh, coat the pumpkin in oil and lay face down on a baking sheet. Poke a few holes into the top of the pumpkin (to allow steam to escape) and roast at 400 deg F for about 40 minutes or until soft. Let cool, then scoop out the flesh. Put the flesh in a bowl and mash with a fork until smooth (you can use a food processor or blender instead of a fork, if you’d like). One average-sized pie pumpkin will yield about 5 cups of puree. Reserve 1 cup of pumpkin puree for this recipe and freeze the rest (in 1 cup portions) until you are ready to make pumpkin pies for Thanksgiving. You are set! A pumpkin treat for now, and more for later. And, if you want to roast the pumpkin seeds, check out this recipe.
For the muffins, sift 1 cup of all-purpose flour, ½ cup of whole wheat flour, 2 teaspoons of baking powder, ½ teaspoon of baking soda, ½ teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and a ¼ teaspoon each of clove, ginger, and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl. Set aside. In a separate bowl or standing mixer, whisk ½ cup of softened butter with ½ cup of granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add two eggs and mix again. Add 1 cup of pumpkin puree (fresh or canned) and along with ¼ cup of buttermilk and mix until combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated. Fold in ¾ cup of butterscotch chips. Scoop equal sized portions of muffin batter into a greased muffin tin. Bake at 350 deg F for 18-20. Let the muffins cool for 10 minutes before eating. Enjoy!
Pumpkin Muffins with Butterscotch
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground clove
- ¼ tsp ginger powder
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 cup pumpkin puree (fresh or canned)
- ¼ cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs (at room temperature)
- 1 stick (or ½ cup) butter, softened
- ½ cup granulated white sugar
- ¾ cup butterscotch pieces
Instructions
- Sift all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices into a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl or standing mixer, whisk sugar and softened butter together until light and fluffy. Add eggs and mix again.
- Next, add pumpkin puree (fresh or canned; see notes above) along with buttermilk. Mix until combined.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.
- Fold in butterscotch chips.
- Scoop equal-sized portions of muffin batter into a greased muffin tin.
- Bake muffins at 350°F for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center muffins comes out clean.
- Let muffins cool for 10 minutes and enjoy!
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