Thanksgiving Muffins

By Late2Serenity

Hands-on time: 5 mins. to 10 mins.

Baking time: 20 mins. to 21 mins.

Total time: 55 mins. to 1 hrs 1 mins.

Yield: 12 to 14 muffins

Ingredients

• 1 cup (7 1/2 to 8 ounces) pumpkin purée, about half of a 15 1/2-ounce can
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup (3 3/4 ounces) firmly packed brown sugar, light or dark
• 3 tablespoons (2 5/8 ounces) vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon (3/4 ounce) molasses
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons apple pie spice; pumpkin pie spice; or 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves + 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger + 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) milk
• 1 cup (4 1/2 ounces) cinnamon Flav-R-Bites or cinnamon chips
• 1 cup (4 ounces) dried cranberries
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour*
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) King Arthur 100% White Whole Wheat Flour*
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon (7/8 ounce) coarse white sparkling sugar or Swedish pearl sugar, for topping; optional
• *We like a combination of all-purpose and white whole wheat flours here. Use all AP (for a higher rise), or all white whole wheat (for more fiber and a lower rise), if desired.

Details

Adapted from kingarthurflour.com

Preparation

Step 1

1) Grease 12 wells of a standard muffin pan; or line with papers, and grease the papers.

2) In a large bowl whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, brown sugar, oil, molasses, salt, spices, milk, and cinnamon Flav-R-Bites or chips. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl.

3) Whisk the flour, baking powder, and baking soda together. Stir in the dried cranberries. Add all at once to the wet ingredients and mix until all ingredients are well combined.

4) Cover the bowl, and let the batter rest for 30 minutes, while you preheat your oven to 400°F.

5) Deposit the batter by the generous 1/4-cupful (a slightly heaped muffin scoop works well here) into the prepared pan. If you have a scale, each muffin will be about 90g, about 3 1/8 ounces. Sprinkle the top of each muffin with about 1/2 teaspoon coarse sparkling sugar or Swedish pearl sugar, if desired.

6) Bake the muffins for 20 to 21 minutes, till a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the middle of a center muffin comes out clean.

7) Remove the muffins from the oven, and tilt them in their individual wells to cool; this prevents their bottoms from steaming and becoming tough. Serve warm, or at room temperature.