For Fall: Pumpkin Muffins

Fall is here! There's a chill in the air, the leaves are changing, and the time is ripe for bringing back pumpkin. Unlike my sister, I love pumpkin, but I always feel like there's something vaguely off about eating it in the summer when it's such a fall food. But as soon as I broke out my jacket, I knew it was time to bring the pumpkin muffins back.

This recipe comes from Susie Fishbein's Kosher By Design: Short on Time. I've been making it for a number of years, and it's always a hit. They make a great breakfast muffin or a dessert. Some people serve them as a side dish, but that always felt a little funny to me. The recipe calls for cranberries and I've found that chocolate chips also work great. However, my favorite way to eat them is plain, or, as I recently discovered, with cream cheese frosting. I used frosting from the can (I was short on time), but I think the one Rebecca makes would be even better. The recipe follows:

Pumpkin-Cranberry Muffins

Kosher by Design Short on Time by Susie Fishbein

These muffins are moist and delicious. They are also quick and easy to bake.

3 cups bread flour or all purpose flour

3 cups sugar

1 1/2 tsps ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)

1 cup canola oil

3 large eggs

1/2 cup sweetened cranberries such as Craisins (optional)

shelled pumpkin seeds (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 3 (6-cup) muffin tins with muffin liners on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, mix flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda.

Add the pumpkin, oil, eggs and cranberries. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Pour the batter into the prepared muffin tins. Each cup should be filled two-thirds of the way. Top each muffin with a few pumpkin seeds.

Bake, uncovered 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the muffins comes out dry. Serve hot or at room temperature.