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!

Snickerdoodle Muffins

I served up these muffins at my holiday brunch back in December and they were a huge hit. Since the winterness doesn't seem to be going anywhere for a while, I think these little confections of nutmeggy goodness are still seasonally appropriate. Though the original recipe deemed them Breakfast Muffins since they do sort of taste like an old-fashioned donut, after I told Lauren about them and her response was "you mean they're like a snickerdoodle?" I realized that these were in fact just like a snickerdoodle and should be named accordingly. In addition to the name, I made a few subtle changes to suit my own tastes (like adding a bit less nutmeg than the original recipe calls for). Don't they just look good enough to eat?

Snickerdoodle Muffins
*Adapted from Muffins
Makes 12 muffins
1 1/2 C plus 2 tbsp flour
3/4 C sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 C milk
1 egg, beaten
2/3 C butter, melted & divided (divided means just that - you will use some of this at different times during the recipe, not all at once!)

Topping:
1/2 C sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin tin with baking cups of the paper or foil variety. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg. Add milk, egg and 1/3 cup melted butter. Mix thoroughly. Fill muffin cups 1/2 way and bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. When muffins are almost finished baking, mix sugar, cinnamon and vanilla in a small bowl for the topping. When muffins are finished, remove muffins from tin (carefully, as they will be hot-hot-hot!). Dip in remaining 1/3 C melted butter and then roll in the topping mixture. Serve with a glass of cold milk and get ready for the 'mmm's' to start rolling in. Though muffins can be oversized and super filling when purchased at Starbucks or something of the sort, these are just the right size and oh-so-light.

So what do you think? Are you a muffin person? What's your favorite kind? Berries? Chocolate? Do you have any muffin recipes to share?

Psst...looking for more muffin recipes? Check out this one.

January Favorites

I can't believe that January is coming to a close. While it means another winter month down, and two to go, I still hate the feeling that time is flying past me in an instant. Despite the quick passage of time, over the last month I've enjoyed some pretty fabulous eats. Whether in my own kitchen, out at a fun, new restaurant, or just ingredients that I find myself intrigued by, today it's all about January Favorites.

Clockwise: peanut butter & apple, spicy sweet potato wedges, figs, Earl Grey Creme, pizza, snickerdoodle muffins

Natural peanut butter & apples - A truly fantastic snack that brings me back to childhood. I'd pretty much eat peanut butter anything, and spreading it on some naturally sweet apple slices is just the icing on the cake, so to speak.

Spicy sweet potato wedges - These were part of my Eat Better Week and they are a fabulous, spicy twist to a classic dish. These basic sweet potato fries are bumped up by the addition of cumin and cinnamon - a perfect winter flavor.

Figs - This is a new flavor and ingredient for me. After all, I can't recall eating figs, other than those of the Newton variety, until recently. Fig jam to be exact. Added to grilled cheese or as a garnish on fabulously cooked meat at Fig & Olive, this is a subtley sweet flavor that I need to explore further.

Earl Grey Creme - I raved about this in A Cup of Teavana and that's because it's been a veritable staple in my drinking repetoire this month...and I can't wait to continue my love affair with the gourmet tea.

Gourmet Pizza - This one is of the Keste variety (check back next week for the Restaurant Roundup). I won't give too much away, but let's just say that this one gives Otto a serious run for its money.

Snickerdoodle muffins - I made these at my holiday brunch, but after finding one tucked away in the freezer, they just had to get a shoutout. After all, a nutmeg, cinnamon, and crystallized sugar topping makes this decadent treat the perfect winter muffin.

So there you have it - the foods I enjoyed the most this past month. What about you? Have you discovered any new foods lately? Any old favorites that made a comeback? Or anything that you want to explore further in February?