Moosewood Muffins

Hey jerks, here are a bunch of healthy and delicious muffins. With pumpkins. And apples. BECAUSE I LOVE YOU.

And they’re not even cake in muffin form, so I was wrong about that always being the case. They’re really real muffins. They couldn’t be put in a loaf pan and baked as bread. They couldn’t be frosted. They’re just muffins. Unequivocally. AND they’re amazing muffins.

Are you happy now? You would be if you made these. Or, if you’re me, you’d be generally pissed off, but then happy for the few moments it takes you to devour one of these while riding your bike down Valencia, and then immediately pissed off again when you’re done with the muffin.

On account of everyone kicking my boat around. Remember?

No but really, I made these for a pumpkin themed brunch, because it’s pumpkin season, HAVEN’T YOU HEARD?, and all I kept doing is pimping them out as “healthy muffins,” which, they are, in essence, comparatively at least, but I mean, a few lettuce leaves are probably healthier, and everyone in attendance was like, what are these?, and I was all, THEY’RE HEALTHY MUFFINS THEY’RE HEALTHY AND GOOD FOR YOU YOU SHOULD EAT ONE HERE TAKE IT. And there are days I wonder why I don’t have many friends.

Moosewood Muffins  (Pumpkin Apple Cinnamon variation)
from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics

Streusel Topping:
1/3 cup unbleached flour
1 1/2 tbsps cold butter, chopped into small pieces
1 1/2 tbsps brown sugar, packed
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of salt

Wet ingredients:
6 tbsps butter, room temperature
1/2 cup to 1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsps milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup peeled, cored, chopped apples

Dry ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose or pastry flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350. Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin by lightly oiling the cups or placing a paper liner in each cup.
If you want a topping, mix together all of the streusel ingredients and blend with a fork until the butter is pea-sized or smaller. Set aside. IN a mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and then the milk and vanilla; the mixture will look lumpy. With a rubber spatula, fold in the pumpkin puree and chopped apples.
In a separate large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, and mix well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and fold together with a rubber spatula without overmixing. Spoon about 1/3 cup of teh batter into each muffin cup. Sprinkle each muffin with a scant tbsp of the streusel topping.
Immediately place the muffins in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, until puffed and golden. After about 20 minutes, rotate the muffin tin in the oven to ensure even baking.
Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool for about 15 minutes. Serve warm or cool completely and store in a sealed container at room temperature.

Per serving: 167 calories