This recipe is from Dorie Greenspan’s wonderful cookbook, Baking From My Home to Yours. These pumpkin-colored muffins will make a delicious and not-too-sweet addition to your winter menus.
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
pinch of ground allspice
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup moist, plump golden raisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
About 1/3 cup unsalted raw sunflower seeds, for topping.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a regular-size muffin pan or line with paper muffin cups.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices. With a stand or hand mixer with a large bowl, beat butter at medium speed until soft. Add sugars and continue to beat until light and smooth. One by one, add the eggs, beating for a minute after the eggs are incorporated, then beat in vanilla. Lower the mixer speed and mix in pumpkin and buttermilk. With the mixer at low speed, add the dry ingredients in a stead stream, mixing only until they disappear. To avoid over-mixing, you can stop the machine early and stir any remaining dry ingredients into the batter using a rubber spatula. Stir in raisins and nuts. Divide batter evenly among the muffin cups. Sprinkle a few sunflower seeds over the top of each muffin.
Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove muffins.
While they’re luscious on their own, they’re even better with a little butter and a lot of orange marmalade or apricot jam. ~Dorie Greenspan
I agree.