Pumpkin muffins

So, here we are, first post! I love the smell of a new blog in the morning. 

I have to be honest with you guys, this is not the first thing I made in the house...I know, I'm sorry. But I didn't take any pictures of the broccoli cheese baked spectacular so you'll have to wait until I make it again to hear about it. I might post the recipe later, we'll see. For now, here is my (actual) first baking project in the new casa. Enjoy.

Pumpkin Muffins

Tis the season for all things pumpkin (my favorite season) and it is only appropriate to fill up the kitchen with the most seasonal smells possible. I found this pumpkin muffin recipe online (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cream-cheese-filled-pumpkin-muffins/detail.aspx ) and followed it almost to the letter. Mine have a bit more cinnamon, and I didn't buy pumpkin pie seasoning, because that seemed like a waste of money. Don't you go out and buy it either, because to make these muffins, you will have all the spices you need already to make your own pumpkin pie spice. I also crumbled some of the dark brown sugar on top to give them a nice crispy top.

Ingredients

I've added to the original recipe the extra spices you'll need to make pumpkin pie seasoning. Click the  recipe link to get the original amounts.

1 ½ cups of flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon (I just eyeballed it here. I probably added an extra ½ tsp)

¾ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon allspice + an extra pinch for the PP seasoning

¼ teaspoon ground cloves + an extra pinch for the PP seasoning

¼ teaspoon cardamom

¾ teaspoon ginger

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup dark brown sugar

2 eggs

½ cup vegetable oil

15 oz (one can) cooked pumpkin

cream cheese

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

• Stir the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, cardamom, ginger, salt, and baking soda together in a bowl.

• Beat the brown sugar and the eggs together with an electric mixer in a large bowl until smooth. Add all the vegetable oil and the pumpkin; continue beating until integrated. Pour the flour mixture into the egg mixture and beat until just incorporated.

• Fill the prepared muffin cups about half-full with the batter. Spoon about 1 teaspoon cream cheese into the center of each muffin cup and poke it down into the middle of the batter with a finger.

4. Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 25 minutes. Let cool in pan 5 minutes and remove to a rack to cool completely. Be extra careful; the cream cheese stays hot for a while

So, post muffins. I followed this recipe exactly, but before you run off and try it, let me make a few adjustments. Definitely sweeten the cream cheese. I don't think it has to be full blown cream cheese frosting, but just plain cream cheese by itself is too bland. I think I'm going to put vanilla in the next batch (though, I've got a habit of putting vanilla in everything) and maybe use butter instead of vegetable oil.  The muffins themselves were pretty good but they were...lacking something. The weren't as good as my mothers and that's pretty much my standard for everything. So, we'll try these babies again another time. I'll let you know how it goes. 

Though I can't seem to get them to stop sticking to the bottom of the paper muffin cup....

P.S. If you have any tips or suggestions please feel free to post them in the comments. I'm a lowly beginner here, so any secrets are appreciated. 

Happy cooking!