I hadn't planned on putting these on the blog when I made them. I usually don't bother writing about muffins or cakes because I don't find them all that interesting, and anyone can make them fairly well. There's just not a lot to share about the process. You will also never see cookies on this blog, but that's because I bake terrible (well, on the low side of average) cookies. Even following the same recipe, my mom's or sister's will turn out better than mine.
But I made an exception for these muffins because we happened to be eating some when my sister told me she'd given my blog address to some of her co-workers who had eaten some of my leftover bread once. She said they'd asked if there was anything easy on the blog. I said I didn't put easy things up because they're boring, but my mom flattered me into doing it by telling me the taste and texture of the muffins were 'phenomenal'.
To keep up the level of pretension I've come to expect from my blog, I left my highly sophisticated and fancy magazine in the photo. I think I should try taking pictures in the late afternoon more often, because I really like the lighting on this. And now, without further ado, the recipe...
Pumpkin Muffins with Cinnamon Frosting
Muffin batter
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 can pumpkin (I believe it's 12oz, and equal to 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree.)
4oz sour cream (One half the smaller containers -- the other half goes in the frosting.)
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 tablespoon nutmeg
1/2 tablespoon ground cloves
A 2 inch piece of ginger, grated
1/2 cup milk
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Measure out the brown sugar in a large bowl. Stir in the softened or melted butter. (A less lazy person might cream the two together, but I don't find it makes a huge difference, and like to save on dishes later by using one spoon for the whole thing.) Add the can of pumpkin and half container of sour cream. Add the eggs, vanilla extract and spices.
In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Gradually add this to the other ingredients. Add milk as needed. The batter will be quite a bit stiffer than most muffin batters, but it turns out really dense and moist. I think I ended up using about 1/3 cup of milk in mine. More milk should give you lighter, fluffier muffins that rise more, and less milk will give you dense and flavourful muffins.
Line muffin tins and fill nearly to the top. Bake in a 350*F oven for 37 minutes.
Frosting
3 oz cream cheese, softened (I used a little package of cream cheese my mom says is 3 oz, but it looks about the size of half a normal package, which is 8 oz. But it's just frosting so it really doesn't matter how much you use.)
4 oz sour cream
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
Put the ingredients in a small bowl and mix with an electric mixer. Adjust cinnamon and sugar to taste. Adjust the vanilla extract for the consistency. I honestly don't remember how much of any of these things I put in...
