Saturday, October 30, 2010

Crazy Easy Pumpkin Spice Muffins

This is one of my favorite snacks.  Not only because it is crazy easy, but because they taste great and give me lots of vitamin A and iron, for very few calories, and not much fat or sodium.  Look at the stats!
nutrition facts



The ingredient list is:
1 box of spice cake mix
1 can of pumpkin
1 tablespoon of blackstrap molasses

Put the pumpkin into a bowl, and add the cake mix and molasses.  You don't have to add molasses.  I add it because it's loaded with iron.  If you do use molasses, make sure it's blackstrap; the other kind isn't as high in iron.




Mix well.  I just use a wooden spoon to mix everything.  No point in getting out the mixer and making a big production out of it.





Spray the muffin pan with cooking spray.  I use Bakers Joy because I'm baking, and that makes me happy.  Also, I spray it all over the top of the pan too, not just in the holes, to make clean up easier.

Fill each muffin cup.  I used a small ice cream scoop and put one scoop in each hole.

SIDEBAR:  Guess what.  I was expecting to make 24 muffins, but after filling the pan I still have lots of batter left.  This kind of annoys me.  I wanted to wash the dishes while the muffins cooked.  The Universe had other plans.  Now I have to wash the muffin pan twice.  This is turning into a big production after all.  I should have bought two mini muffin pans, but it's too late for that now.  Besides, I'd still have to wash two muffin pans.

We'll see how many muffins we end up with after the first batch is cooked and I can use the pan again.  I just realized I will have to wait for the pan to cool off before I wash it.  I'm glad it's only 5:30am and I have the whole day ahead of me to finish baking muffins.  Srsly, I should have made big muffins like I usually do. 


Bake for 18 minutes.

Cool pan on wire rack for about 13 seconds, then impatiently take one of the muffins out to see how easy it's going to be to get these out of the pan.  The first one lifted right out, so did the second one - yay!  And the pan isn't all nasty because of the Baker's Joy.  I am not going to wash this pan, I am going to just keep using it.  Please don't judge me.  I had enough batter to make 9 more muffins, for a total of 33 mini muffins.


 


Yes, folks, 33 mini muffins.  In spite of the fact that I used the same ice cream scoop to measure each muffin, they are not all the same size!  These two are side-by-side, even though it looks like the one on the right is closer.  That is an optical illusion. 


What the hell, muffins

I ate the one on the left.   Delicious.

My friend Florence in Oklahoma makes mini muffins all the time for her great-grandbabies.  I don't recall her ever saying anything about how they are all different sizes.  I must ask her what she uses to measure them out.

Now I have to fix the nutritional stats while I wait for the remaining 9 muffins to finish baking.  What a hassle.

OK, I fixed the nutritional stats, and now all the great nutrition has gone down.  It doesn't really matter, because I will probably eat 3 of them at a time.  They are really small. 

Here is a picture of the finished muffins.  In spite of the setbacks this morning, I love this recipe.  I've made a pumpkin spice cake using the same 3 ingredients and baked in a bundt pan.   That got served by putting a slice of cake on a plate, adding about 1/4 cup of Greek yogurt, sprinkled with homemade granola, and drizzled with honey.  Sometimes I put a layer of baked nectarines on, too.  This really is a simple recipe.

Some children love the muffins or cake plain.  Some children require icing.  The texture is nice and moist, so you do whatever you like as far as icing/not icing.  I am not icing them.  I am going back to bed after I roll over to NutriMirror to log in 3 mini muffins.

Whatever.


7 comments:

  1. What the hell muffins is the funniest thing I have ever read from you!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love your writing style - it's like you're talking to me. And I have to agree with Kel - "What the hell muffins" made me laugh. Good thing I'd already swallowed my water before I read that part. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have to agree with the ladies, "what the hell muffins" cracked me up!!:) You are so funny and I love reading your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  4. BTW, you should srsly do the Scottish Oatmeal Cake, I would love to see your pictures of it falling apart!!:)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jannie you are asking for trouble.

    ReplyDelete
  6. i have been making your muffins wrong!!!

    no wonder they always come out so HEAVY. i usually add the other stuff the spice cake mix calls for! OOPS! still tastes awesome, but next time i'll only put in pumpkin and molasses :-) YAY. srsly ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'll be making these THIS weekend !! Thanks for the ideer !!

    take care .... stay kool .... be content
    molly =)

    ReplyDelete