Pumpkin Muffins

With Walnuts and Streusel Topping

Real Restaurant Recipe

Making Pumpkin Muffins is a delicious way to use the abundance of pumpkins available in the fall.

You can bake a pumpkin, let it cool, remove the pumpkin peel with a sharp knife and then purée the pumpkin pieces in a food processor (and then strain or drain the pumpkin through cheesecloth before using in baking).

This is a lot of work but if you want fresh pumpkin for your cooking (breads, soups, pies, cakes, tarts or as a side dish) you should use a Sugar Pie, or Sugar Baby, or Autumn Gold, or Prize Winner or Triple Treat pumpkin rather than the large common pumpkin we buy for making Jack-o'-lanterns for Halloween.

Most often the smaller pumpkins will be more tender and somewhat more sweet than the large varieties.

You can also roast pumpkin seeds on a cookie sheet in your oven at a low temperature and eat the roasted seeds as a snack. Shelled pumpkin seeds can be used in place of pine nuts in recipes.

But as I said, all this is a lot of work.

This muffin recipe takes the easy way out - it calls for canned pumpkin.

If you make your own puree you can use an equal amount of it in place of the canned pumpkin.

This Pumpkin Nut Muffin Recipe will give you moist and delicious muffins. And as a bonus, pumpkin is a great source of vitamin A.

Pumpkin Muffins

With Walnuts and Streusel Topping

Preparation time: 20 minutes. Serves 12-16.

Ingredients:

2 medium eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 3/4 cup Libby's canned pumpkin (I personally believe Libby's has the best canned pumpkin on the market. See the notation below.)

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cloves
2/3 cup chopped walnuts

Ingredients for Streusel Topping: (Topping is Optional)

1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 tablespoon butter

Instructions for Streusel Topping:

Combine sugar, flour and cinnamon in a bowl
Cut in the butter with a fork or pastry brush until crumbly and set aside

Instructions for Pumpkin Muffins:

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees F (Be sure the oven is at the correct temperature before baking the muffins or the muffin shape will not be right)
In a large bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, vegetable oil and pumpkin and mix well
Sift together flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves

Tip: If a recipe calls for sifting several dry ingredients, put all the ingredients in a bowl and stir with a wire whisk.

Add the flour mixture and walnuts to the pumpkin mixture, combining just until blended (do not over mix)
Bake in a greased muffin pan (or use paper muffin cups) filling each cup 3/4 full
Sprinkle 1-2 teaspoons of streusel topping on each muffin before baking
Bake at 425 degrees F for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the muffins comes out clean

That's GREAT! You now have some wonderful muffins to share!