Recipe: Pumpkin Pie Muffins

Pumpkin Pie Muffins
Zaballa House
Half Moon Bay, California
Specialty Recipe
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2-1/2 teaspoons pumpkin spice
1/2 cup lightly salted butter or margarine, melted and cooled
1/4 cup butter milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 Tablespoons molasses
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts
3/4 cup chopped pitted dates


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease twelve 3 x 1-1/4- inch muffin cups. In large bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin spice. In another bowl, stir butter, buttermilk, eggs, molasses, pumpkin, and vanilla until blended. Make a well in center of dry ingredients; add second mixture and stir just to combine. Stir in pecans and dates.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups; bake 20 to 25 minutes or until cake tester inserted in center of one muffin comes out clean. Remove muffin tins to wire rack. Cool 5 minutes before removing muffins from cups; finish cooling on rack. Serve them or cool completely and store in an airtight container at room temperature. These muffins freeze well.

Serves: 12 muffins