Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins with Sweet Spice Glaze

Happy Tuesday! I don't know about you, but my office was closed yesterday, meaning that I had a nice, long three-day weekend. I spent it celebrating a friend's engagement, shopping like mad in SoHo with my mom and sisters, eating fast food and watching Jersey Shore with the hubs, visiting with family and baking a boatload of apple pies...more on that later. I'm still spent this morning though since Shaun and I were up watching the Jets beat up on the Vikings last night (ok, I may have fallen asleep way before the end of the game, but still...).

I'm not sure if it's the Fall season, more time at home or the impending holidays but lately I've had a major jonesing for getting my bake on. It seems that all I want to do is bake up delicious treats, much to the chagrin of my waistline, I might add. So after I cleaned out my local A+P of their entire stash of pumpkin, I knew that the day of whipping up some pumpkin baked goods had finally arrived.

For my first pumpkin treat of the season, I whipped up a batch of whole wheat pumpkin muffins. By substituting whole wheat flour for all purpose and drizzling with a pumpkin spice glaze, I amped up the flavor and texture on these delectable little treats. And ya gotta love that muffins as a whole could not be easier to make. No hand or stand mixers, no beating until your arm goes numb. Just putting some simple ingredients together and gently mixing is all it takes to get 'er done.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins
*Adapted from Muffins
1 C whole wheat flour
1/2 C sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 C butter
1 egg
1/2 C pumpkin puree
1/2 C evaporated milk
1/2 C raisins, optional (I omitted them)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Fill muffin cups with paper liners. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles cornmeal. I used two knives and then got down 'n dirty with my own two hands.

In a separate bowl, comgine the egg with pumpkin and milk. If including raisins (I didn't), add them.

Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Don't overmix or you'll end up with one tough muffin.

Fill muffin cups about half way full and bake for 15-18 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Mine were done after 15 minutes.

Let cool. Drizzle with Sweet Spice Glaze.

Sweet Spice Glaze
1/4 C confectioners' sugar
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Whisk all together in a bowl.

If it isn't thin enough to drizzle, add more milk until desired thickness.

Serve on a pretty plate, and you're set for your next gathering or even for a special evening at home. I Fall-ified mine even further by jazzing them up on this sweet plate that was gifted to us by our dear friends Ryan and Kristen at our mini housewarming party a few weeks ago. Isn't it just adorable? I couldn't wait to break it out for something as delicious as pumpkin muffins.

So there you have it, a little roundup of my baking frenzy. And these delicious, light as a feather muffins can easily be prepared on a weeknight since the entire process took about 20 minutes. Shaun and I had these muffins all week long and it was such a wonderful autumn treat after work each night!

So what do you think? Has your holiday baking bug kicked in yet? Are you obsessing over Fall flavors like I am? What's your favorite treat thus far? Any plans for yummy Fall eats this week?

Psst...for more heavenly Fall eats, check out my Apple Cupcakes + Cinnamon Frosting, a sure fire crowd pleaser!

Autumn Apple Cupcakes + Cinnamon Frosting

This past weekend finally felt like Fall. While Shaun would prefer for the summer to never, ever end (he loves his shorts and flops and doesn’t mind the sweat-induced summer heat - me? I mind), I relish the cool breeze, multi-colored leaves and the spicy, warming flavors that autumn brings.

In case you didn’t know, I have a major crush on everything apple and everything pumpkin. And if you weren’t aware of this wild mild obsession, you’re about to find out with lots of delicious recipes during the upcoming months. When we were invited to a birthday party at Shaun’s aunt’s house, I couldn’t wait to devise the perfect culinary offering. Since the forecast was to be chilly, I decided that a healthy dose of autumn baked goods was in order. Enter apple cupcakes.

This uber moist cake is complete with autumn spices including nutmeg and cinnamon along with grated apples that add just a bit of crunch along with a major dose of flavor. Oh and the addition of the sweet cinnamon frosting is just the icing on the...er, cake. But truly, these little cakes were like a bit of heaven - I’ve never gotten so many compliments on one of my baking creations before!

Autumn Apple Cupcakes
*Adapted from Martha Stewart
2 1/4 C all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 C sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
Juice of one lemon
3 C shredded apples, I used 3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two muffin tins with baking cups. I realized only too late that I only had 21 liners, not 24, so I buttered and floured those bad boys up and crossed my fingers that I’d be able to get my little delights out of the pan (spoiler alert: it worked!).

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

Meanwhile, grate your apples, after peeling and coring them up. Admittedly going through the motions of peeling and coring apples with just a paring knife was no doubt the lowlight of this entire process. I did, however, make grating them super simple by busting out the grater attachment on my food processor, which just made me happy and excited to use it. What can I say? Dorky things make me happy. Once grated, you will need to work quickly to prevent browning. Transfer the apples to a small bowl and mix in the lemon juice. Note: before adding the apples into your batter, you may want to drain them slightly or pat down with a paper towel. I did not do this and ended up with a lot of moisture at the bottom of my batter - something I would try to avoid next time.

In a stand mixer (or in a large bowl with a hand mixer), beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Mix in the eggs and vanilla extract. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the grated apples. Lastly, add in the flour mixture, slowly, so as not to shoot flour all over your pretty kitchen. Mix until just combined.

Fill muffin cups about half way and bake for about 18 minutes. Note: a toothpick will not come out clean on these uber moist muffins until it’s too late and they are burned. You will need to watch them and remove from oven once the tops are firm and spring back up when lightly pressed. Transfer to a wire rack and frost with cinnamon frosting once completely cooled.

And of course I just had to do an immediate taste test. You know, just to make sure they tasted ok. And no, I couldn't even wait for the frosting.

Cinnamon Frosting
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
3 C confectioners’ sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp ground cinnamon

In a mixer (or large bowl with hand mixer), beat the butter and cream cheese together. Slowly beat in the sugar, 1 cup at a time and mix until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and cinnamon and stir until combined. Frost apple cupcakes and resist the temptation to eat frosting by the spoonful (from experience, it doesn’t bode well for the stomach).

So what do you think? Are you a fan of fall flavors? If so, what's your poison? Or are you still lamenting the summer gone by?

Fab Food Fest: Winter's Eve at Lincoln Square

One way to combat holiday blues and withdrawal is to reflect kindly on the wonders of Thanksgiving whilst jumping right into spreading Christmas cheer. Always a sap for the spirit of Christmas, I'm wasting no time gearing up for my favorite holiday.

Tonight at Lincoln Square, it's Winter's Eve, the annual Lincoln Center tree lighting and food fest. Beyond the whole Christmas cheer thing, there's food and entertainment stretching from the Time Warner Center to 68th Street and everywhere in between. Local restaurants set ups tents and offer food samples ranging from $1-$5 and I'll be sampling up a storm, not to mention hunting for the freebies. The tree lighting starts at 5:30 and food and entertainment lasts until 8 making this a perfect post-work stop for food and fun. I'm super excited about this for two main reasons:

1) Some of the participating restaurants are ones that are generally a bit out of my price range (Bar Boulud, Asiate) and this is a perfect opportunity to sample their offerings without breaking the bank.
2) A portion of proceeds will go to City Harvest, New York's only food rescue organization. As a bonus, they'll also be collecting canned goods at their truck parked at 63rd and Broadway, so do your part and bring one.

Participating Restaurants:
• A Voce
• at65 Café
• Asiate
• Bar Boulud
• Bar Masa
• Bouchon Bakery
• Café Fiorello
• Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola and Great Performances
• Ed's Chowder House
• Europan Bakery Café
• Gabriel's Bar & Restaurant
• Gourmet Garage
• Josephina
• Landmarc
• Le Pain Quotidien
• Luce
• Magnolia Bakery
• O'Neals'
• Nick and Toni's Café
• P.J. Clarke's
• Picholine
• Porter House New York
• Rosa Mexicano at Lincoln Center
• Sapphire Indian Cuisine
• Screme Gelato Bar
• Siam Inn
• Soutine Bakery
• Sushi a-go-go
• 'wichcraft

Other promised highlights:
-Free hot chocolate and peppermint bark at Williams-Sonoma @ Time Warner Center
-Dante Park's got cheese sampling (you know, the little square outside Lincoln Center)
-Kiehl's has got cider and samples
-NYIT's boasting a 'Go Green exhibit'
-Whole Foods will have holiday food samples
-Find your inner kid at Landmarc as they've got cotton candy

Bottom Line: Cheap, charitable, and fun to boot

Beware: It gets mighty crowded, so come prepared to battle your way through crowds to reach your desired food stops. For some tips on how to do the festival circuit, check out my article on the San Gennaro Festival back in September.

Anyone else plotting their festival route for tonight? I'm hoping the weather holds up and I can hit as many stops as possible. If you're attending, give me a shout to meet up!

*Be sure to check back for the wrap up later this week!