Who doesn’t love a two-way recipe? Today’s seasonal muffin recipe can go either sweet or savory, and is almost infinitely adaptable, just by varying the add-ins. Make regular-sized muffins — what my Gram Mather called “gems” — or super-size them by using a Texas-sized muffin tin.
As our Arizona mornings turn cool, something freshly baked and just out of the oven — like warmly spiced sweet pumpkin muffins — will get your day off to a fine start.
On the other hand, if your supper menu features a simple soup or stew, the savory version of these easy muffins will round out the meal nicely.
Mornings are pretty relaxed at my house. If they’re crazy at your house, you can prep the wet and dry ingredients the night before and combine them just before baking in the morning. The combined wet ingredients should be refrigerated if you’re going to do this.
The basic recipe here calls for pumpkin purée. You can use either fresh purée or canned purée — be sure it’s not pumpkin pie filling if you’re using canned. Fresh purée is easy to make — steam or roast a seeded pie pumpkin’s flesh until it’s soft and scoopable, then measure out what you need.
But I find it’s handy to keep a can or two of pumpkin purée in the pantry anyway, because it’s a sovereign remedy for the tummy trouble that occasionally plagues my aging pup. The cup and a half you’ll need for the recipe is a little less than a 15-ounce can of purée — go ahead and add the whole can. The muffins will just be a bit denser. Why waste that last little bit of pumpkin?
Whether sweet or savory, this is a good fall recipe to have in your pocket for all kinds of occasions.
Sweet or savory pumpkin muffins Makes about 12 regular muffins or 6 Texas-sized muffins
Note that this recipe only uses baking soda for leavening — no baking powder. Make the muffins dairy-free by using plant or nut milk. I have not tried using gluten-free baking mix in these muffins, but if that’s important to you, go ahead and give it a shot. See the note below if you’d like to make savory pumpkin muffins — so good with an autumnal soup or stew.
Ingredients
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup vegetable oil, melted butter, or melted coconut oil
½ cup granulated sugar
¹⁄³ cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1½ cups fresh or canned pumpkin purée (use the whole 15-ounce can if using canned purée)
2 large eggs
¼ cup milk, dairy or nondairy
Optional additions: about ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts; dried cherries, blueberries, or cranberries; chocolate chips
Preparation
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a 12-count regular muffin pan or a 6-count Texas-sized muffin pan with nonstick spray or line with cupcake liners.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, ginger and salt together until combined. (See note below for savory muffin substitutions.) Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, pumpkin purée, eggs and milk together until combined.
You can set dry ingredients and refrigerated wet ingredients aside overnight if you wish to make these especially fast in the morning.
When ready to bake, pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and then fold everything together gently just until combined and no flour pockets remain. Gently fold in any optional additions.
Spoon the batter into liners, filling them all the way to the top.
Bake for 5 minutes, then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Bake an additional 16–17 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Texas-sized muffins may take a little longer.) Allow the muffins to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before serving.
Cover tightly or place cooled muffins in a large zip-top plastic bag and store at room temperature for up to one week.
Note: To turn these into savory muffins, omit cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and ginger. Instead, add 1 teaspoon crumbled dried sage, 1 teaspoon crumbled dried rosemary, and ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Optional add-ins for savory muffins include ½ cup chopped nuts, candied ginger, or crumbled bacon. Scatter a few pepitas atop each muffin before baking, if desired.
