A busy week for me and I was frantic Thursday night trying to come up with a recipe. So, I called my favorite cook and dearest friend, Vicki, in Maine looking for a pumpkin recipe. She didn’t have anything to really rave about but suggested I research finding a pumpkin muffin recipe. So, here it is folks.
Years ago there was a wonderful market called Hay Day in Connecticut. Unfortunately, it is no longer around — it fell prey to a big company who was buying Balducci’s in NY. And then after they were bought, they lost their soul and their name…and became Balducci’s and now Balducci’s is gone…’nuff said!
Anyway, these are muffins from their cookbook and ones I tasted at their market. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
- 8 TBL (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup (firmly packed) light brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup pumpkin puree (make your own or purchase at market)
- 1/3 cup fresh orange juice
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 TBL pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 cup golden raisins
- 1/2 cup walnuts, preferably toasted, and coarsely chopped
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter 12 muffin cups, or use “Pam”
2. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar together in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Blend in the egg, pumpkin puree, and orange juice. (The mixture will appear curdled, but it will pull together once the dry ingredients are added.)
3. In another mixing bowl, stir together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda, and pumpkin pie spice. Toss in the raisins, separating any clumps, along with walnuts. Make a well in the center and add the pumpkin mixture. Blend until all the dry ingredients are moistened.
4. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling them 3/4 full, and bake until nicely colored and rise (a toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean), 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, and cool in the muffin cups for 5 minutes. Then turn the muffins out onto a wire rack to cool for a few minutes before serving.
NOTE:
Pumpkin spice can be made on your own by combining equal parts of ground nutmeg, cinnamon, and allspice and half as much ground cloves.
thanks for the recipe, I grew up in CT, now living in Maine and boy do I miss Hay Day!