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Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Who's Got the Pumpkin?

Today while I was rearranging the pantry I decided to check some of the use by dates.  Now I am not a stickler for tossing things that have passed their dates, but sometimes you just have to draw the line. I found a jar of capers that had gotten shoved to the far corner of the bottom shelf with a best by date of '06 and several jars of chow chow that should have been used by '11. It was quite easy to toss all of those, but some of the other items were harder to call.  For example, I had 4 cans of pumpkin, three of which are still in the current date period, but one was dated 12/15.  I decided to go ahead and open it, smelled it, and declared it fine. Well fine with one small codicil. It had to be cooked for at least 20 minutes at a temp over 300.

The odd thing about all this is I am not a pumpkin fan at all. I bake one pumpkin pie every Thanksgiving for TheHub who eats 2 slices, sticks it in the fridge and 3 days later I throw it out. Every year is the same. Bake, Slice, Chill, Toss. So why did I find 4 cans in my pantry?  I have no idea.  And the even bigger question was what would I make to use this can. I thought about pumpkin soup but I really and truly do not care for it at all, saw a recipe for the Starbucks pumpkin latte (gag) and finally decided to just make muffins.  Edible? Yes! Heavy pumpkin taste? Not at all! Have a recipe handy to use pumpkin? Kinda (My applesauce muffin recipe would work fine)

                                                           Pumpkin Muffins

       

3 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spices (normally apple pie spices) I used cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, mace, allspice, cloves and black pepper. I have no idea the exact amounts but I used more cinnamon than anything and used the rest in descending amounts in the order I typed them.  If you are in doubt just use some of the pre-blended pumpkin spice.
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups sugar (For the apple sauce muffins I use half brown and half granulated. For these I just used granulated.)
4 eggs
1 can pumpkin (1 1/4 cup applesauce if making the apple sauce muffins)
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup water/orange juice/apple juice (Your choice. I used apple juice because I found a bottle in the pantry)

Add ins, optional
chocolate chips
pumpkin flavored baking bits
nuts
grated orange peel (would be great if you used orange juice for the liquid)
coconut

In a large bowl mix all the dry ingredients, including the sugar. Whisk well to combine everything. Add all the wet ingredients and stir until well blended, but do not over mix.

Spoon into well greased muffin tins. Makes 24 regular sized muffins or 48 mini muffins.  I have no idea how many jumbo muffins this will make because: ( a ) I didn't make any ( b )  I don't own any jumbo muffin pans to try it even if I had wanted to.

Bake at 350 for about 18 minutes (less if using mini muffin tins)

I made half of these regular muffin size and added mini chocolate chips to the other half, which I baked in mini muffin tins. I thought the chocolate addition was so-so, but I am not a big chocolate and spice fan.  Son2 had some and loved them. My mother thought they were delicious until I told her they were pumpkin muffins, when she declared she couldn't eat any more than 1 because she hates pumpkin.  Go figure!

I am having many houseguests during the Thanksgiving week and this might be on one day's menu. Next time I think I will use orange juice, toss in some orange zest and add toasted pecans to the batter.

Now go stir up something  delicious or at least stir up some trouble!



28 comments:

  1. Pumpkin muffins with orange zest and toasted pecans sound delish! I would have never thought to toast pecans first, much less add them to the batter. I need to try this... alas the pumpkin puree in my fridge right now needs to be turned into a pie for my hubby. But the next time I defrost some, I'm gonna try your muffins. Thanks for sharing!

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    1. I toast all nuts before I add them to baked goods. It really brings out the nut's flavor

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  2. We are pumpkin fiends in our house-baked that is. My pumpkin bread was the favorite request in the college care packages and always sent it back withthe kids when they came home for weekends. I rarely make muffins though-not sure why, but this looks like a winning recipe. I never measure my spices, and am always high on the nutmeg, cloves, and all spice. Your mother in laws comment is so funny.

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    1. I really do suck at measuring anything. I use recipes but generally eyeball everything. Most of the time I am successful, but sometimes I get a little heavy handed with an ingredient or 2 and failure follows.

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  3. I do like pumpkin. A lot. My father said it was animal food and it was never served when I was growing up.
    Mind you, I only eat it in savoury recipes, and I have never seen it canned here. Another cultural shift.

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    1. I can eat it, it is not on the list of 3 foods I will never eat at all, it's just not my favorite. I think it is a tactile thing with me rather than flavor.

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  4. I love all things pumpkin, including lattes, ha,ha. I could eat pumpkin pie year round and have. Of course the best pie is equal parts whipped cream to pie ratio. Probably why I shouldn't eat it year round. Take care!

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  5. I know I am the oddity. It seems everyone else in the world loves it!

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  6. Mama made 7 pumpkin pies, at least, every year. She put our initial on the top of the five children's pies. She said she was sick of everyone complaining that someone ate all the pie. Each pie was put in a gallon storage bag, and we each ate our own. Problem solved.

    When Mama was a teen, she came home to find a sweet potato pie her mother had just baked. She had a slice and told Memaw how wonderful it was. Memaw told her it was pumpkin pie, the one pie my mother could not stand. I am so grateful. I make pumpkin pies using my mother's recipe and pumpkin bread.

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    1. I really do believe I am the only one who does not like pumpkin pie at all

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  7. Put mini chocolate chips in pumpkin bread and love them. I'm with your son.

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    1. I love chocolate, just not with cinnamon. I will still eat them, but next time I will leave them out and try the pumpkin bits or white chocolate ones.

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  8. I didn't grow up eating pumpkin. We used sweet potatoes for everything that most people use pumpkin for. However, my husband did grow up eating pumpkin. I learned to cook with it and actually fell in love with it. I like it for both sweets and savory dishes. I put two cases in the pantry as soon as the cans went on sale this month. I also usually cook up any we have about after Halloween.

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    1. Now I love sweet potatoes just about any way except that casserole with marshmallows on top.

      I did make a savory stuffed pumpkin once and it was tasty enough but not something I want to make again.

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    2. Those marshmallows should be outlawed on tops of casseroles of any kind!
      pparsimony

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  9. You are so talented. I'm not a pumpkin fan either. MY MIL brings a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving and I try and give it away so that I don't have to throw it out. Never could eat it. But I think I could love your muffins. Yum.

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    1. The muffins were good and not too pumpkiny. If I am somewhere and am served pumpkin pie I eat one bite, tell them it is the best pumpkin pie I ever put in my mouth, then declare I am just stuffed and can't eat another bite.

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  10. I ate pumpkin cookies at work years ago. They were delicious. My freezer door didn't close properly last night. *sigh* Two items on a shelf in the door thawed out. I'm grateful that everything else seems to be fine. I found some things in a cabinet that expired in 2011. Bye-bye to them. Maybe you can purchase some pumpkin pie by the slice for your husband so you don't have to throw out so much pie. Willy Dunne Wooters will eat an entire pumpkin pie, given a couple of days.

    Love,
    Janie

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    1. I have had the door not closing properly issue before. What a pisser!

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  11. Holy cow! I think I have that same jar of capers in my cupboard!! with the same expiration date! I bought it for something that I don't remember and there it sits.
    I usually only go through the expiration dates when I pull stuff out for food drives. They don't like expired food. Go figure!

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  12. I use capers a lot! I really do but this jar just got shoved back and back more. I try to go through things regularly but obviously I don't.

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  13. I have a can of pumpkin lurking in my cupboard too lol! I used to make my own pies or tarts but now I just buy a pie. I like pumpkin muffins but that seems like a LOT of sugar. Guess I'll let my can lurk a while longer :)

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  14. It is a lot of sugar and to be honest the consistency is more like cake. It could be cut substantially

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  15. I'm not really a pumpkin-flavored-everything fan either. I do enjoy an occasional pumpkin treat, but for me it's all about the sweet potato. LOL!!

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    1. I like sweet potatoes also, but am not a sweet potato pie fan either.

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  16. I wish we could get pumpkin puree here because I like pumpkin but I can't stand the cutting and peeling or the sticky orange stuff on my hands.

    We dont usually use pumpkin in sweet dishes here but one day in a fit of creativity, I made the effort to make pumpkin puree and then used it in a pumpkin and orange butter cake. I never could find the recipe to do it again but it lives in m y memory as a pretty special cake

    The Thanksgiving plan sounds delish!

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    1. I think I will cut the sugar down and do the orange/nut thing.
      We have pumpkin puree everywhere right now!

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