Fakin' It

Here is what is happening in my version of events: the air is cool, leaves are changing colors and falling to the ground, and Green Bay is still undefeated. Instead, temperatures are in the 90's, the brittle leaves on the ground are mostly from the drought, and Green Bay should have won their game Sunday night. So forgive me if I spent today making my own little taste of fall: pumpkin muffins.

From now on I am going to start providing the original recipe only changing it to be consistent with the format I use here. I'll put notes in the header to describe how I changed things because I am quite likely to do that, but otherwise you'll get the original recipe.

Longfellow's Wayside Inn: South Sudbury, Massachusetts
Pumpkin Muffins

Adapted from Better Homes and Gardens Recipes from Famous Places, 1978. These taste very strongly of cloves, so I recommend reducing the amount of ground cloves you use. I replaced most of the flour with white whole wheat flour and reduced the amount of sugar a bit. They are not as moist or crumby as most pumpkin muffins I've made in the past.

1 cup raisins
1/2 cup water
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 tsp ground cloves
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup cooking oil
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 400. Soak raisins in the 1/2 cup water for 5 minutes; do not drain. In large mixing bowl beat eggs. Stir in pumpkin, sugar, cloves, cinnamon, and salt. Add oil and mix well.

Stir together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Add to pumpkin mixture with half of the raisin-water mixture. Mix well. Stir in the rest of the raisin mixture.

Fill greased muffin pans 2/3 full. Bake about 25 minutes, until top springs back when pressed with finger. Makes 12 muffins.