Pumpkin Streusel Muffins ~

Oh how I've missed baking! I cleared the calendar of everything for the month of July so I could have surgery and today I just had  to get in there and bake. I even got out my food processor to make the streusel for this recipe even though you can just mash it with a fork. I wanted to go all out!

Now I know that pumpkin muffins are probably not what you plan for your summer menu. I didn't really plan it either, it just sort of happened. The year before last, at Thanksgiving, there was a shortage of pumpkin. It was so scary - can you imagine not having pumpkin pie or pumpkin bread or anything pumpkin at that time of year?? So this past Thanksgiving, I bought more than enough, because I was scared that I wouldn't be able to find it on the shelves and nobody else in my family would either.

Not. The. Case.

So I had 3 cans of pumpkin just sitting there staring at me every time I walked into the pantry. So I decided to make these:

Where's the streusel you ask? Well, I forgot to use it. However, they were just as yummy!

I found this recipe on one of my favorite blogs, Smitten Kitchen. She is hilarious and I urge you to go and read the post about her pumpkin muffins! I think the woman can salvage almost anything she makes in her kitchen but I was rolling by the time I finished reading about this one.

As always, I tweaked my recipe to suit my tastes. 

1) I used part wheat flour as opposed to all all-purpose flour. 

2) I also don't know how much pumpkin pie spice I used. There was some in the bottom of the container that looked to be about 1 teaspoon but I was not in the mood to fight with it so I just poured all of it in. (Did you know you can make your own pumpkin pie spice? I've added the recipe for it at the bottom of this post).

3) I also have something against most oils, so I used butter instead. I know you think it is crazy but butter in moderation is actually better for you than oil. Just trust me on this one!

4) I cut the sugar down to just 1 cup. I like even numbers.

5) And WHOOPS! Instead of using 1 cup of pumpkin, I just saw the part where it said "15 ounce can" and used the whole can!

Lastly, I made a streusel topping to put on my muffins. I forgot to put it on mine, but nevertheless, I made some. I always make up a bunch and keep it in the fridge because it is kind of a hassle to make it every time you make muffins. That recipe is there too.

So here is the (accidentally) altered version of the recipe for pumpkin muffins:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a large muffin tin with liners. My recipe made 8 large muffins. Once muffins are in oven, lower the temperature to 350 and bake for 27 minutes.

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup wheat flour

1 t baking powder

1 - 15 ounce can pumpkin

6 T butter

2 large eggs

1 t. pumpkin pie spice

1 cup sugar

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 t. cinnamon

Melt the butter in a bowl. Add the pumpkin and eggs and mix well. Add everything except flour and mix well. Lastly, add the flour and mix until combined. Divide evenly into muffin liners and bake.

Streusel Topping:

1/2 cup flour

1/4 c brown sugar, packed

1/2 stick butter

1/2 t ground cinnamon

Throw all into the food processor and pulse until butter is chopped.

Pumpkin Pie Spice Recipe:

• 4 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 4 teaspoons ground nutmeg
• 4 teaspoons ground ginger
• 3 teaspoons ground allspice

Despite all of my efforts to demolish this recipe, the muffins came out moist, light, and YUMMY!