Pumpkin Muffins

What better way to welcome fall than with the taste of pumpkin? These pumpkin muffins are the next sure addition to my muffin making/baking line-up. They make for a scrumptious early morning breakfast and are super easy to make...both good things. And, the crunchy top created from the cinnamon and sugar topping...oh. my. Spread a little mascarpone cheese on for good measure, or not, either way you will have an autumn-flavored breakfast delight awaiting you!

I expect muffin making to dirty a max of two bowls, to be hand mixed, and to be completed in less than 8 steps. This recipe met all of that. For me, making muffins is a way to have a little homemade added to our every day, not so I can master the art of complicated baking. I'll save that for birthday cakes...

Pumpkin Muffins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil a 12-cup muffin tin (I don't believe in using paper muffin/cupcake liners because of the waste and the way it slows down the muffin/cupcake eating! Just be sure to oil well.).

Using a wire whisk, whisk together 1 cup of canned pumpkin (the unsweetened one, not the pie filling), 1/3 cup vegetable oil, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, 1 1/4 cups sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a large bowl until smooth. In a separate bowl, mix 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour with 1 teaspoon baking powder. The, whisk flour mixture into wet ingredients until just combined.

Stir together 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1 tablespoon of sugar in another bowl.

Divide batter among muffin cups, then sprinkle tops with the cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake until puffed and golden brown and wooden pick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

Cool in the muffin tin on a wire rack for five minutes, then transfer muffins from tin to rack and cool to warm or room temperature.