Cypressville Extra Book Goodies
Book Three | Pumpkin Spice Muffins
Jane's Pumpkin Spice Muffins
After Jane inherited her Aunt Matilda’s Victorian home in downtown Cypressville, she discovered her aunt's recipe box in the back of the old butler's pantry. Some of her collected recipes went back as far as the eighteen hundreds. Some of the older papers were fragile and had directions scratched out and edited by each new baker in the family. Her favorite recipe was her great grandma’s Pumpkin Spice Muffins.
Jane would have never made the recipe in its original form because of the amount of work that went into preparation. But fortunately, her grandmother figured out how to use canned pumpkin. Attached to the recipe with a rusted paper clip was a black-and-white photograph of her grandmother and grandfather from the nineteen forties. They stood in front of the Alexandria Town Hall, her grandmother held a tray of muffins with a blue ribbon, and her husband, who worked for Libby’s™ as a traveling salesman, had a can of the pure pumpkin that she used in the muffins.
Jane mastered her family’s recipe, and now during the autumn and holiday months, Mr. Fournier carries them in his bakery.
INGREDIENTS:
THE TOPPING:
• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 5 tablespoons of raw cane sugar
• ¾ cup chopped pecans (Jane prefers walnuts)
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
THE MUFFINS:
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into a measuring cup and leveled-off
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1½ sticks (¾ cup) unsalted butter, softened
• 1½ cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 (15-ounce) can 100% pure pumpkin (Jane uses Libby’s™)
INSTRUCTIONS:
• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Spray the muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray or insert muffin liners into the tray’s cups.
Topping:
• Combine the flour, softened butter, raw cane sugar, chopped pecans or walnuts, and cinnamon.
• Blend and set aside.
Muffins:
- Combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Whisk together and set aside.•In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar. (Use low speed on an electric blender and beat until just blended.)
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, and continue beating for a few minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the pumpkin and beat until combined, be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until combined.
- Transfer the batter to the muffin pan. (Jane likes to use an ice cream scooper.) Fill each cup to almost the top.
- Divide the topping evenly over the batter.
- Bake for 30 minutes for smaller muffins and 35 to 40 minutes for larger muffins. Use a toothpick to test the readiness and ensure it comes out clean.
- Muffins should cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then be moved to a cooling rack.
Enjoy!
Notes:
- This recipe makes 12 large muffins or around 18-20 small muffins.
- Muffins can be frozen in an airtight container or a freezer bag for up to three months. Allow the muffin to thaw at room temperature for about three to four hours before eating.
- To reheat, wrap a single muffin in aluminum foil and place it in preheated oven at 350°F until warm or microwave for 15 seconds.