Pumpkin Muffins with Cinnamon and Nuts

With the arrival of October the air fills with the scent of cinnamon, dry leaves and cozy evenings at home. We share a tasty recipe for homemade pumpkin muffins from a 51.RU reader.

Ingredients

1. Pumpkin puree — 250 g

2. Flour — 200 g

3. Eggs — 2

4. Sugar — 150 g (can be replaced with brown sugar for a caramel note)

5. Vegetable oil — 100 ml

6. Baking powder — 1 tsp

7. Baking soda — ½ tsp

8. Cinnamon — 1 tsp

9. A pinch of salt

10. Ground ginger — ½ tsp (optional)

11. Nuts (walnuts, pecans or hazelnuts) — 50–70 g

12. Raisins or dried apricots — to taste

Step-by-step recipe

1. Prepare the pumpkin puree.

2. If you do not have ready puree, roast peeled pumpkin pieces in the oven at 180 °C (350 °F) for 25–30 minutes, then blend until smooth.

3. Mix the dry ingredients.

4. In a bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices — cinnamon and ginger. Stir together.

5. In another bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar.

6. Add the vegetable oil and pumpkin puree, and mix until smooth.

7. Combine both mixtures.

8. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet base, mixing gently. The batter should be thick but not stiff.

9. Add the nuts and dried fruit.

10. Chop the nuts and fold them together with the raisins or dried apricots into the batter.

11. Bake.

Divide the batter among the molds (fill them two-thirds full), and place in a preheated oven at 180 °C (350 °F). Bake for 20–25 minutes, until the muffins are golden. Check doneness with a wooden skewer — it should come out dry.

For even more tender muffins, let the batter rest 10 minutes before baking. To make them lighter — replace part of the flour with oat flour, and swap sugar for honey or agave syrup.

Read about how to bake a simple and tasty charlotte, and how to prepare pickled cabbage.

Earlier we shared a simple method for salting mushrooms and a recipe for mushroom caviar. We also explained how to make a blueberry pie, vitamin drinks for immunity and five seasonal soups.

We also explained what to do with northern berries and how to properly salt trout and prepare liver pancakes.